


How it feels to be lost (and found)

by UnknownBard



Category: Spider-Man (Video Game 2018), Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Friends to Lovers, I chose Sam over Maggie don't kill me, Lena is a people pleaser but also she ain't got no time for your shit, So Much Sexual Tension, Some angst, Spidey puns, also references to Kara x MJ and Kara x Black Cat, but mostly fluff and gay panic, but she'll smash into a wall cause Lena is near, danvers sisters bickering like children, kara can backflip off a ledge no problem, like an abundant amount of thirst, lots of pining, more lusting, shifting povs, so many near kisses, spider verse AU, the crossover you didn't know you needed, there will be smut, these two are so dumb and in love, until now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-09
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:08:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 29,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23082973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownBard/pseuds/UnknownBard
Summary: Lena Luthor and Wilson Fisk are two of New York's biggest corporate powerhouses, but their amicable rivalry turns hostile when Fisk crosses the line. Spidergirl teams up with Lena with the goal of taking the Kingpin down once and for all, though she doesn't expect the rush of feelings that assault her despite her guarded heart.A.K.A: Spider-verse Supercorp AU where there's a lot of gay panic and so many near-miss kisses you're going to want to murder me.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers, Spidergirl x Lena
Comments: 42
Kudos: 105





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I was operated for appendicitis and with all this free time on my hands, I started playing the PS4 Spider-Man game that came out two years and ago and my brain did the thing then my fingers slipped and here we are. Anyways, enjoy the sexual tension!

“Good morning New York!” Spidergirl, donning her red and blue spandex uniform, casually flings herself off the top of a building in a completely unnecessary flourish of movement. She extends one hand in front of her, sending out a web that attaches itself to a nearby structure, and as she tugs herself forward, she resists the urge to belt out a ‘Yeehaw!’ 

“The sun is shinin’,” another web is shot as Kara lurches forward once more. “The birds are chirpin’,” she runs around the side of a building, kicking off of it into the air and diving down before shooting another web and saluting the window washers of a nearby skyscraper as she does so. They point their phones at her and she dutifully poses in the air. 

“Today is gonna be great!”

The communication device in her mask comes alive with the voice of a woman she’s heard every day for the past fifteen years; Alex Danvers, the adoptive sister she's known since her family had taken a thirteen-year-old Kara in.

“Spidergirl, are you busy?”

“Good morning Detective! Hey, let’s try that new coffee place downtown. I hear they have a new latte filled with all the stuff you hate, so all the stuff that I love, and it’s over five hundred calories! Can you believe it?” Kara is practically foaming at the mouth and thinking of ordering two. _Don’t judge, web-swinging burns a lot of calories._

“Officers just confirmed that Lena Luthor was kidnapped late last night, we need your help.”

Kara gracefully lands on a nearby building _. So much for the greatest day ever…_ “You think it’s Fisk?” Kara’s voice turns serious like a switch has been flipped at the mention of Lena being in danger. 

Lena Luthor and Wilson Fisk have been butting heads since the beginning of time, two corporate giants clashing. Not only did Lena build a much bigger edifice next to Fisk Tower, but the Kingpin was also continuously trying to enlist Lena’s help, which she always vehemently refused. 

Their rivalry was amicable, or it used to be until Fisk decided he had enough of hearing the same answer from the young CEO and became increasingly hostile. Spidergirl and Lena joined forces a few months ago with the intention of bringing the crime lord down for good. 

And despite her own silent warnings, walls she had put up to guard her heart, Kara started taking a liking to the brilliant and kind woman that was Lena Luthor. She wouldn’t go there again, there was no way she could bear another civilian dying because of who she is, because of what she does. 

“His men were spotted on a security feed near the L-Corp building. We tailed one of their vehicles.” 

“Gotcha. Address?“

“The docks by Hudson River.” 

Kara pushes herself off of the glass window and swings in the dock’s direction with focused determination “Right on, partner!” She says in a southern twang she knows made Alex’s face scrunch up in disgust. 

“It’s way too early for your horrible accents.” 

“But it’s never too early for Spidergirl to save the day!” And just like that Kara’s sunny disposition is back full force as she throws her emotional baggage over her shoulder and pretends that it’s not there. _She’ll be fine. It’s Lena. She’s smart and resourceful. She’s fine._

Kara hears another long and drawn out sigh coming from the detective. “Let me know when you get there.” 

“Roger, Roger. 10-4. This is a job for Spidergirl!” She dramatizes in that deep voice that she knows her sister absolutely hates. “Alex? Alex are you there?” Radio silence. “I guess she didn’t have time to drink coffee yet. Poor thing.” 

Kara lands on top of the building's metal roof not more than ten minutes later, the sound hushed and barely audible. “Okay Alex, I’m here.” She whispers as she crawls around the side of the warehouse and slips into a vent, closing it gently behind her. 

_What is it with bad guys and warehouses?_

“Great, we have snipers surveying the docks. We’ll take care of the men outside.” 

“Danvers and Danvers,” Kara brings out _the_ voice again as she crawls inside the tight space, “in a race against time to save the city’s leading tech innovator-“

“Kara. Stop.” It was not a suggestion, it was a demand. One that will ensure her sanity remains intact. For today at least. 

“Right, sorry.” Kara emerges out of the vents and deftly crawls up towards the structure’s supporting beams. 

It’s eerily silent, worryingly so. She spots Lena down below, tied to a chair with one thug on each side guarding her. A third one is pointing a gun at her head and interrogating the woman. She listens in on the conversation intently, eyes scanning for any injury on Lena’s body. 

“You should have taken the deal, Luthor.” The man with the thick Long Island accent snickers. 

“Did Fisk really think I would change my answer because one of his henchmen is pointing a gun at my head?” 

“Who are you looking for? Spidergirl?” 

The man chuckles and Kara snarls.

“She’ll be here.” 

Kara’s heart flips at the confidence in Lena’s voice.

“Tell us something we don’t know.” 

_Shoot, they were waiting for me. Expecting me._ “I have a crawling feeling this might be a trap. There’s barely any men inside.” 

Alex ignores the pun for the sake of her mental health, “I have a tactical unit ready if things get out of hand.” 

“Smart, beautiful and related to me? You really are perfect.” 

“One more comment, one more and -” 

“I’m going in.” Kara jumps down in view of the thugs, a few feet away from Lena. Their eyes meet and relief floods the woman’s face. It’s not surprise that Kara notices in those clear green eyes, it’s fear, but not for her own safety. 

Kara braces herself and bends her knees slightly when the hairs on the back of her neck raise and the thug that was interrogating Lena charges her. She springs over him effortlessly, and as she’s twisting her body around, she sends a ball of spider web that splats in his face.

He curses loudly and desperately claws at it, toppling over a stack of wooden crates in the process.

Landing on her feet with a slight bounce, Kara’s eyes dart between the two men standing on either side of Lena. “I love starting the day with a good workout, but first: stretches!” She grabs her foot behind her to stretch it, then rolls her shoulders and her neck around as if preparing for a marathon.

One of them speaks into his earpiece and Kara makes an experienced assessment based on her many years being a vigilante to conclude that he’s most likely calling for backup. 

She turns to Lena and waves at her in a way that’s entirely too relaxed for the situation they’re in. “Good morning miss Luthor! Are you ready to go? I have a few things to take care of then we'll be out of here in a jiffy!” 

Lena quirks and eyebrow at her in a way that makes Kara blush underneath her mask. “Take your time.” She tugs at her restraints but can’t seem to successfully get out of them. 

The non-descript wooden crates burst open and a dozen of Fisk’s men surround the superhero. 

_Now it’s a party_.

“Boys, boys,” she holds up her hands, pulling their attention away from Lena. “There’s no need to be so aggressive. We can just talk it out? No?” Kara sighs dramatically as they stalk closer to her. “Okay, well, don’t take this too personally, but that large metal pipe is clearly compensation for something and -” Kara jumps over a gunshot, sends a web towards the weapon and yanks it towards her when it latches onto it. “Gun safety 101: do not point it at your local web swinger!” 

She can hear Lena chuckle and despite the chaos that surrounds her, a warm sensation floods her chest. _Isn’t it usually the other way around? The victim falling for the superhero that saves them? You’re so pathetic, Danvers._

“Everything under control, Spidergirl?” Alex asks through the coms.

“Yep!” Kara vaults over one of them as he swings his lead pipe at her, and simultaneously kicks him in the back while she pushes off of him. “And another one bites the dust, ah!” She sings off-key while the thug faceplants on the ground. Her eyes widen, the emotion translating into her mask’s mechanical eyes when she spots one of the thugs with a large RPG on his shoulder.

Kara artfully, in her opinion, takes him down as well as two others. The first is blindsided by a flurry of kicks, the second is stuck to the wall with copious amounts of webbing, and she slides between the third’s legs and punches him in the crotch in the same motion.

Kara jumps to her feet and swings herself out of the way of an electric baton. Dangling upside down from one of the support beams, her eyes never leave Lena for too long. “Huh, Alex, what would you say if I said the word ‘rocket launcher’?” 

“I’m sending the tactical unit.” 

Seconds later men and women dressed in heavy tactical gear crash through every possible entrance the warehouse has, including the roof; shields and automatic rifles trained in front of them. 

_Wow, what a cool entrance!_ “Good to know,” Kara drops down and lands next to Lena, deciding an immediate extraction was necessary. Alex’s unit could take the rest of Fisk’s men seeing as most of them had been incapacitated already by yours truly. 

“Nice of you drop in,” Lena smirks and Kara feels uncharacteristically warm at the look of adoration that’s trained on her. 

Kara snaps the restraints around Lena’s wrists, wanting to rub the angry red marks they left behind. “Ah! You’ve been hanging around me way too much, Miss Luthor.” 

“And yet you still don’t call me by my first name.” 

“Alright Lena, wanna get out of here?” Kara asks and wonders if Lena can sense the brilliant smile she gives her when they clasp their hands together.

“That’s the best offer I’ve had all day.”

Lena’s hand makes it’s way up her arm, clutching to her bicep, and Kara flexes involuntarily. Their eyes lock and Kara knows that she knows. And she knows that she knows that she knows - and somewhere in the middle of her freak out her mouth moves and words come out to form a sentence: “I’m not going to dwell on the fact that your only other offer was being forcibly kidnapped.” 

A flashbang explodes near them and it breaks Kara away from her thoughts of sweeping up Lena in her arms and kissing her silly. “Right, imminent danger. We should head out.” Kara feels Lena clutching to her a little tighter and promptly wonders when she died and went to heaven. 

Kara informs Alex of Lena’s safety as they walk out of the warehouse. Before the unit commander can ask Lena if she would like a police escort back to her penthouse, Lena’s already jumping on Spidergirl’s back like she had done so many times before. 

_She smells so good. Oh my God! Stop it you creep!_

Kara needlessly reminds Lena to hold on tight as she jumps up and swings them forward with a slight grunt, but quickly adjusts to the extra weight. 

“What did Fisk want this time?” Kara asks, trying not to have an aneurism when Lena presses herself tighter against her back. Though, she is slightly concerned that they’re both unsurprised about her use of ‘this time’. 

“He doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.” 

“Have you tried blocking him on Facebook?” Kara hears and _feels_ Lena’s chuckle and it’s a bit of a sensory overload when the woman readjusts her grip around her shoulders.

“He’s offering me an astronomical amount of money to partner with him. I know he wants to use my technology to benefit whatever illegal activity he’s currently set his sights on, but strong-arming someone isn’t great business practice. Or so I’m told.”

“Personally,” Kara’s voice is strained as she tugs on another web, pulling them forward. “I’ve found that asking a potential partner for coffee is the way to go.”

“Oh? And why have I not gotten that offer?” 

Kara swallows hard. _Don’t say it. Don’t say it._ “I didn’t know you wanted that offer.” _You said it. Congratulations, you have no self-control._

“I would accept such an offer if asked.”

Kara remains silent, not trusting herself to blurt out something totally embarrassing like ‘it’s a date!’ She clamps her mouth shut, and moments later they land on Lena’s balcony. The landing is a bit rough because Kara gets a whiff of Lena’s shampoo, but for the most part, it sticks and they make it safe and sound. 

Regretfully, she lets Lena hop down, meeting her eyes when their feet hit the ground. “There you go.” Kara smiles and wishes, for the second time today, that Lena could see it. 

“I had a wonderful time,” Lena jokes, mirth dancing in flecks of green and yellow. 

It’s truly mind-boggling, Kara ponders silently, how they can flirt so comfortable around each other. Although she does hate herself for the not so platonic feelings that assault her every time Lena smiles at her, or does that thing with her eyebrow, or just looks in her general direction. 

“Call me,” Kara replies with a wink - _thank God for mechanical lenses_ \- and gives Lena a two-finger salute before she hops off the balcony and swings away. 

_Ugh, call me? I’m such an idiot._

* * *

“Penny for your thoughts, Miss Luthor?”

Lena jumps at the sound of the familiar and slightly muffled voice, her fingers gripping the glass half-full with amber liquid tighter to prevent it from slipping out of her grasp. Turning around, Lena spots Spidergirl’s form casually perched on the edge of her balcony.

“Does New York’s finest superhero always follow up with the citizens she saves?” Lena asks, smirking into her glass.

Spidergirl jumps down, her feet barely making a sound as they touch the ground with a slight bounce. “Only the ones that get kidnapped every other week.” She jokes, walking forward and watches Lena meet her halfway. 

Lena chuckles. Even if the comment was meant as a friendly jest, it was accurate nonetheless. Lena takes a deep breath, letting the tension evaporate from her neck and shoulders. With downcast eyes, Lena peers down into the glass she moves around idly, watching the liquid move from side to side. “Some days it feels like I’m walking around with a giant target on my back.” 

“I know the feeling.”

Spidergirl’s tone is gentle and reassuring and Lena knows it’s her way of telling her she isn’t alone, that she has someone on her side. And despite herself, it works. Looking out at the sun slowing making its way down across the skyline and disappearing in the water, Lena shakes all grim thoughts from her mind before she turns to Spidergirl with a genuine smile. “Regardless, I can’t thank you enough for what you did this morning.” 

“All in a day’s work,” is said cheerfully as Spidergirl poses with her hands spread her hips and her chest puffed out in a way that never fails to make Lena laugh. 

The wind blows and Lena shivers, though the scotch has been keeping her warm and it barely registers. “A girl could get used to this,” she rasps in a voice that’s an octave lower than usual. 

Silence. 

Lena takes the last step that closes the distance between them. They stand toe to toe, and unlike the countless other times a tipsy Lena has flirted with the vigilante, she didn’t move away or deflect her comment with the aloofness Lena finds so completely endearing. It makes her heart jump in her throat, and Lena feels immediately embarrassed to have such strong feelings for someone she’s never truly seen. 

Lena stares into the ridiculously large black rimmed-eyes and wonders what Spidergirl might look like under the mask. What the colour of her eyes are and what her hair looks like. Did she have any scars on her face? Are her lips as sweet as her voice sounds?

The suit gives Lena a very good, if not inappropriately intimate view of every curve of the woman’s body as the material practically clings to every muscle, teasing and taunting.

 _Spandex is a treacherous thing, isn’t it?_ That thought Lena keeps to herself. 

“Who’s the woman under the mask?” Lena’s hand moves boldly and when her fingers curl around the material to pull the mask up over Spidergirl lips, she doesn’t move.

They’re a light shade of pink, and in the soft orange glow of the evening, it’s as if they’re calling out to Lena and promising to set her entire body ablaze. She resists the urge to throw herself at the vigilante like a college girl with a total lack of self-control. Just barely.

She traces the strong jaw with a steady hand, fingers grazing the square chin that Lena can only describe as strikingly handsome. Lena observes the way Spidergirl leans into her touch, but she can feel the tension tightly coiled in the strong body and she wonders if she could melt it away with the gentle press of her lips to hers. 

The young CEO was well aware of Spidergirl’s past, as well as the entire island and the rest of the world. Gwen Stacy’s death three years prior shocked the entire city and the rumours that she and Spidergirl were romantically involved surface soon after. 

Briefly, Lena contemplates whether the eyes behind the mask are bright or if they’re haunted by the lover she lost. As the silent musing leaves her mind, Lena leans in, the two hundred dollar malt scotch in her hands all but forgotten as Spidergirl’s breath tickles her face. She can swear she feels the woman shiver. Or was that her? Lena couldn’t tell. 

She pushes the mask further up tentatively, wondering how far Spidergirl will let her get. Wondering if she trusts Lena enough to reveal her secret identity to her. 

Her question is answered when Spidergirl’s hand halts her movements and brings the mask down over her face. “Lena...” 

Her name spills from soft lips like honey and Lena understands it for what it is: a plea filled with hope and yearning, something the vigilante wasn’t going to ever let herself have. At least, not tonight. 

“Stay safe,” she whispers sweetly with all the earnestly Lena’s used to hearing from her.

She watches Spidergirl somersault into the air with the prowess of a limber gymnast, and sling herself around a building, disappearing into the night sky.

Lena puts her glass down on the railing and leans forward on her elbows, covering her face with both of her hands. “God, what am I doing?” She wonders aloud without the slightest idea of when exactly she had fallen for the masked superhero. 

* * *

Lena enters the Daily Bugle with a decisive step, heels clanking on the floor and garnering the interest of several pairs of eyes as she walks by. 

‘You should consider it’ her publicist had told her this morning, dropping the photo of Lena and Spidergirl departing from the docks on her desk. ‘We can never have enough good press and the good citizens of New York like the Luthor and Spidergirl pair’. 

Lena didn’t want the hero to think their friendship was nothing but a business transaction, but with the rising tide of anti vigilante vitriol running rampant and media outlets using Lena’s rivalry with Fisk to paint her as a villain and the next big ‘evil tech genius’, they could both use this to their advantage. 

Besides, Lena was fairly certain Spidergirl understood her feelings ran deeper than co-workers teaming up for the greater good, which came with its own set of very specific complications. Like, for example, how Lena could not foresee being romantically involved with anyone else but the woman whose face was still a mystery to her. 

_You really are quite pathetic, Luthor._

“Lena Luthor,” she greets the woman at the front desk. “I’m here to see Cat Grant.” 

“Right this way, Miss Luthor.” 

The woman smiles brightly and leads Lena towards a large office situated on the corner of the building overlooking fifth avenue. 

Her eyes scan the room decorated with framed headlines from the Daily Bugle, and there is a distinctive lack of New York’s hero. Lena’s gaze snaps onto the blonde woman who rises up from behind her desk and walks forward, extending a hand out to her in the usual formal introduction Lena is used to. 

Cat’s smaller than she is, but there’s an electric spark of confidence that seems to surround the woman and Lena, maybe for the first time in her life, feels something akin to intimidation. However, Lena satisfies her ego thinking that’s probably what most people feel around her. 

“Miss Luthor, it’s a pleasure to meet you finally.” 

“The pleasure is all mine,” Lena replies charmingly as she gives the offered hand a firm shake. She attempts to read the expression on the woman’s face but all she sees is a casually blasé attitude that doesn’t reveal anything deeper.

Lena’s eyes track the woman as she sits back down behind her desk, her back straight and shoulders set in a posture that exudes power, and rightly so. “I hear you have a request?”

Lena isn’t quite sure how to approach this conversation, but what she gathers is that Cat isn’t a woman that likes to beat around the bush for too long. “You know as well as I do that L-Corp has had its fair share of bad press.”

Cat scoffs, eyebrow quirking in that intimating way Lena was used to, albeit being on the receiving end of it was awkward, if not a little condescending. _Is that what I look like all the time?_

“And you want one of my reporters to write a fluff piece about you?”

Lena takes a seat in front of Cat’s large oak desk, which is littered with several unorganized stacks of papers and Lena has to exert an incredible amount of self-control to prevent herself from leaning forward and tidying it up. “Not exactly,” she sets her jaw, “the city loves Spidergirl. We’ve been working together a lot recently and I noticed how that shot of her and I received a lot of attention.” 

Cat laughs this time, humourless and stoic. “Ah, so it’s a fluff piece for you _and_ the vigilante.” 

The reporter’s eyes never leave hers, and Lena catches onto the wordless challenge that passes between them. It’s the same look Fisk has given her countless times, a showdown she was well versed in. She leans forward, eyebrow hitching up almost knowingly. “I know you have your reservations about her, but you can choose the reporter you believe will be best suited for the job, to make sure the article remains neutral.”

“All our employees are unbiased, Miss Luthor. I don’t accept shotty reporter work.” Is the curt answer Lena receives.

 _Perhaps I underestimated her just a tad._ So, Lena prods at the woman’s sense of duty to her city. “Yes, of course. I meant no disrespect, Miss Grant. What I’m offering is not simple praise, it’s an insight into the inner workings of New York’s crime ring and how the Kingpin operates. Wouldn’t you want to bring attention to this city’s greatest threat?” 

Something shifts in Cat’s hard and focused eyes, they soften slightly in recognition. She had been bested and she knew it. 

_Knight to King, and checkmate_. 

Lena doesn’t bother holding back her smirk. Every New Yorker feels strongly about their city and Cat Grant was no different. The air shifts around them from the previous mental tug of war to mutual understanding. It’s amicable and far more comfortable. Lena relaxes in her seat, watching as Cat mirrors her movements. 

“An impeccable sense of style and balls of steel? A woman after my own heart.”

Lena laughs, and a genuine smile stretches on crimson lips. “Being the damsel in distress was never quite my style.” 

“I can imagine.” A beat. “I have a reporter in mind, she’s the best we have. Her name is Kara Danvers.”

“Great, when can I meet with her?” Lena can’t shake the feeling like she’s heard that last name before. 

* * *

Kara hangs upside down, slowly descending until she’s looking through Lena’s kitchen window. She spots her brewing her morning coffee and looking devastatingly beautiful as always. 

She knows she has no reason to see Lena today. She’s not in danger. They’re not actively working on anything at the moment and on top of that, NYPD has no further lead on Fisk, but it’s been four days since she last saw her and Kara couldn’t stay away.

Besides, superheroes bring their friends breakfast from time to time right? _I bet Captain America does it. He seems like that kind of guy._

Lifting her hand up, she gently taps on the glass to get the woman’s attention, unable to hold in her laughter when Lena turns around and jumps at the sight of Kara dangling from outside the window.

“How’s it hanging?” Kara chirps happily once Lena opens the window to let her in, grinning at her own ridiculously cheesy pun. 

“You know,” Lena drawls, “you could use the door like a normal person, or the perfectly good balcony you’ve used as a landing pad many times.” 

Although Lena tries to remain cold and stoic, the slight curl to her lips betrays her humour and Kara chuckles. “But this is so much more fun!”

“Because you get to scare the living hell out of me?” 

“That and,” Kara hops through the open window, “I always have the element of surprise on my side.” Lena looks at her with an expression Kara can’t quite pinpoint. Annoyance? Fondness? Maybe both. It’s sort of how Alex always looks at her too. 

“Far be it from me to dampen your creative freedom then.” 

Kara’s thankful for the mask on her face that is currently hiding the goofy love-struck grin she has. Lena is wearing a silk robe, the deep crimson shade contrasts beautifully with her pale skin and raven hair and is nothing short of breathtaking. 

Suddenly Kara remembers the bag she’s holding. “I brought goodies of the sugary variety!” She exclaims, excited about the diabetes-laden threats she’s about to stuff her face with.

“Sit,” Lena motions the kitchen island. 

Kara takes a seat on one of the bar stools and watches Lena fill two mugs with steaming and freshly brewed coffee. 

Lena sets one down in front of Kara as she stands on the other side of the island facing the superhero. She leans forward on her elbows, fingers curling around her mug. “And what’s the reason I have the pleasure of being in your company this morning?”

“I, huh, w-well I was patrolling and it was quiet so I figured I’d take a break.” Kara stammers through what can only be described as the worst lie she has ever told. Except for that one time she told Alex she wasn’t the one who ate her leftovers when she was still very much shovelling those exact leftovers into her mouth _._

_She almost believes you. Idiot._

Lena only nods, her eyebrow arched as she takes a sip of her coffee and takes a bite out of one of the many pastries Kara had brought over.

 _Yep, you’re a bad liar_. She resigns to the fact that the cause of her death will be her heart exploding in her chest at how nervous Lena makes her. Kara rolls her mask up over her nose and proceeds to stuff way too much food in her mouth at once. _Hm, I love the taste of sugar in the morning, and the evening...and every second of every day._ She stops abruptly, her cheek bulged from all the food that’s still in there when she hears Lena’s throaty laughter. “Wha?” She asks around the mouthful of semi-chewed pastry. 

“You’re the messiest eater I’ve ever met.” 

“Thanks!” Kara takes another bite of the pastry, which only makes Lena laugh louder. 

She freezes once her eyes zero in on Lena’s hand. A hand that’s coming towards her face and a thumb that swipes the strawberry filling from the corner of Kara’s mouth. Without a moment’s hesitation, Lena licks it and Kara is sending thanks to the Lord above that she’s firmly sitting down. 

She recognizes the mischievous glint in green eyes, this is payback for scaring Lena earlier. Still, all of Kara’s attention is on Lena’s lips and she wonders what they would feel like against hers as if it’s the world’s greatest unsolved mystery. Her tongue darts out again and Kara wants nothing more than to suck it in her mouth. _Woah cowboy, back it up_. Thought the blush that creeps up on Lena's usually pale complexion didn't go unnoticed. 

_“Robbery in progress in Hell’s Kitchen. Corner of 11th and 41st street. All available units report immediately.”_

Kara almost topples the stool as she springs up to her feet when the police radio rings in her mask. “S-sorry, huh, duty calls.” _Could you form a proper sentence, you babbling idiot?_

Lena nods in understanding and wraps her arms around herself when Spidergirl opens the window and the cool morning air assaults her heated skin. “Be careful.” 

“Always. And Lena?” Kara has one foot out of the window, and sure she could use the balcony but she wasn’t one to shy away from a perfectly good dramatic exit. “This was nice.” 

“It was. You’re always welcome here.” 

There’s not a hint of teasing in Lena’s voice and it feels like an entire circus of gymnasts settled in Kara’s stomach and are doing an intricate series of flips.

Before Lena can tell her Spidergirl she should hold the cardiac arrest from her sneaky entrance next time, Kara vaults out of the window and leaves a smiling Lena behind. 

* * *

Today is April 22nd. 

Kara is sitting on the roof of an apartment building, the wind tussles her blonde locks and Kara thinks it’s a nice change from being cooped up in the spandex suit for most of the day. With downcast eyes, she watches her feet idly dangle off the edge as the day shifts into night. 

April 22nd is a day stained with sorrow and sadness. The day Gwen Stacy had died. 

Kara wishes she could erase it from the calendar, but she didn’t hold that kind of power. And clearly, she didn’t have the power to save the woman she loved; beloved daughter and academic overachiever. 

Self-pity was clearly on the menu tonight and Kara had a four-course meal to dine on. However, the steady footfalls of boots behind her shake her out of her miserable state of mind. 

“What are you doing here?” Kara asks without turning her head. 

“This is the roof of my apartment, doofus.” 

Alex knows what day it is and Kara is well aware her sister isn’t surprised when she finds her here tonight. Subconsciously, and very consciously, it’s the reason she was here in the first place. 

Kara sighs and fiddles with her fingers in her lap. “Right.” 

“I miss her too, kiddo.” 

Alex settles down next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her in. The burden of her grief feels a little lighter. Dare I say, even dangerously close to manageable. Kara drops her head on Alex’s shoulder and closes her eyes. “I know I’m only torturing myself, but if I wouldn’t have told her who I was maybe - maybe she’d still be alive.” 

“Don’t do that,” Alex warns, though It’s affectionate.

“Do what, Alex? Think about my past mistakes and try to become a better person?” Kara feels a twinge of guilt at the irritable tone in her voice, but Alex only tightens her hold around her.

“Make excuses for why you won’t let people in based on your past experiences.” 

Kara’s jaw tightens. “I’m not,” she protests even though she knows it’s fruitless.

“Are too.”

Kara swallows thickly, the smell of Alex’s leather jacket bringing her an odd sense of comfort. “I just wish things were different.” 

“We all have done things we regret, things we wish we could go back in time to fix, but there’s no way of knowing if it would actually have changed anything at all.”

Kara lets her shoulder deflate, loving and at the same time, absolutely hating how Alex can always read her like an open book. _Let me be sad and emo._ Kara pouts, but it’s not particularly effective when Alex can’t see it. “Maybe you’re right. I’m just overthinking.” 

“What’s this really about?” Alex presses knowingly. 

Kara shrugs and Alex rolls her eyes affectionately. 

“It’s about Lena, isn’t it? You want to tell her?”

 _I knew it. She totally reads minds. It’s the only explanation._ “I trust her.” 

“Then tell her,” the eldest Danvers offers with a simplicity that Kara wishes were, in fact, that simple.

“She deserves to know,” Lena has been nothing but helpful and wonderful and Kara couldn’t deny they make a great team, “but I can’t risk it.” _I can’t risk her_. 

“Kara, what happened with Gwen is not going to happen with Lena just because you take the mask off.”

A shaky breath spills past her lips when she hears her worst fears spoken out loud. “What if it does?” 

“Lena can take care of herself and you have no way of knowing that. The decision is your own, it’s your secret to tell, but I know and I’m still here.”

“I don’t know Alex, she already has enough eyes on her as it is. I don’t want to add to it.” 

“Don’t pretend like you can decide what she’s capable of handling or not.”

“Can you stop making sense?” Kara huffs, indignant. “You’re making it hard for me to be broody and pout effectively.”

When Alex slips her other arm around her and lays a kiss on top of her head Kara wonders why, out of all the seven billion people living on this planet, she was the lucky one who got Alex Danvers as a sister. 

“Do you want to go see her?”

“No,” Kara replies after a long moment of silence. She hasn’t visited Gwen’s grave in months, and a part of her knew there was nothing to gain from going. She was gone and she wasn’t coming back.

An idea suddenly springs to mind and Kara jumps to her feet, throwing her bag over her shoulder. “Be right back.” 

“Where are you going?” Alex asks needlessly as Kara disappears and emerges minutes later dressed in her spider suit. 

Kara takes a running start, wraps her arm around Alex’s waist as she pushes them both off the ledge of the building, nothing but emptiness under their feet “Sugar we’re going down swinging!” Kara’s shout is almost as loud as Alex’s curses ringing in her ears. 

“Have I told you how much I hate you?” Alex asks as Kara swings them around a building. 

“Love you too, sis.” 

“Is this payback for the motorcycle incident? Because that totally was unintentional.” 

“I don’t know what you mean, Alex,” Kara’s sarcastic tone is not lost on Alex.

“Kara…” Alex hisses as they approach the side of a building at a speed the detective wishes she could reach with her motorcycle.

“Hold on tight!” Is the only thing Kara says as she holds her sister’s weight against her and runs up the side of the building. 

Kara’s carefree laughter is enough to drown away Alex’s fears until they reach the edge of the building and Kara pushes them off in a wide arching backflip. 

“I WILL MURDER YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!”

Kara laughs louder.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where they make beautiful science together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the world is descending into chaos because of the virus, I have had a lot of time to write about these two idiots. Hope you enjoy.

“It’s really not a big deal, and could you please come down from there?” Alex grumbles as she grabs a bottle of liquor from the freezer. 

Kara is pacing back and forth in Alex’s apartment, more specifically, she’s walking upside down on the ceiling of her sister’s living room. One arm is folded over her chest, the other holding her chin. 

“I can’t do this, Alex!” She huffs suddenly and throws her arms up, or down, in absolute defeat and terror. 

“You’ll be fine. Now have a shot or I’ll shoot you with a tranquilizer dart,” Alex holds the shot glass up towards Kara expectantly, her eyes clearly spelling out ‘you know I’ll do it you little shit’.

Kara pouts fiercely but Alex’s glare is harsher. Losing the battle, she begrudgingly jumps down, landing on the hardwood floor without making a single floorboard creak. Kara eyes the offered drink with slight suspicion but knocks it back anyways, immediately regretting her choice to trust her sister. “Tequila, really?!” Kara sputters and coughs as the alcohol burns a path down her throat. 

Alex chuckles and clinks her glass with Kara’s empty one before she brings it up to her lips and tips its contents into her mouth. “That’s for the footprints on my ceiling, which by the way, you’re gonna clean.” 

Kara ignores her completely in favor of freaking out. “I have to interview Lena,” her voice is nothing if not panicked. 

“Ya said that already.”

“As Kara Danvers.” 

“Yes, we’ve been over this.” 

“About Spidergirl.”

“Do you have amnesia?” 

“Alex please this is serious,” Kara whines and crosses her arms over her chest, sliding her glasses up her the curve of her nose with her index finger. 

The detective sighs, sliding into a stool and leaning back against the kitchen island. “You’re wigged out over nothing.” 

Kara looks positively buzzed and wired and Alex can only imagine the insane amount of caffeine and sugar that was consumed. “You don’t get it! This is literally the worst thing that could possibly happen.” A beat. “Except maybe Veniero’s closing or - or twinkies being discontinued.” 

Alex snorts, loudly, while she pours them a second shot. “Oh, I _get_ it alright. You’re worried because you can’t act like a normal human being around her.” 

Kara plops down next to Alex and slumps forward a little overdramatically, but it helps her cope with the impossibly shitty situation Lena had, without knowing, thrown her into. “And she’ll see my face and - and how I look at her and she’ll know, Alex, she’ll _know_.” Kara deadpans with wide eyes like her fate is already sealed and she’s waiting for God to strike her down.

Alex exhales and pushes the shot glass in Kara’s chest more forcefully than is necessary. “Drink. Just drink.” 

After repeating this process a few times, Alex handing her sister alcohol while words shoot out of Kara’s mouth so quick she can barely pay attention, Kara starts to visibly relax. Her cheeks are rosy, though this time it’s not because of raunchy thoughts she has about pinning Lena against her kitchen counter. This time, Tequila is the culprit. But now she most definitely is thinking about pinning Lena to her counter and her cheeks flush even more. 

“Why don’t you just have the interview over dinner, have a few drinks to loosen up?” Alex offers. They’re both on the couch now, Kara’s head on her shoulder and their feet up on the small coffee table littered with various police files as well as Alex’s badge and holstered sidearm. 

“No! That would be _way_ worse. I already say everything that goes through my head out loud, imagine me drunk, _with_ Lena?” Kara pales at the countless embarrassing scenarios that assault her brain. She lurches forward, grabbing both of Alex’s hands in hers. “What if she gets too close or touches me, and I accidentally shoot some web... _prematurely_ ,” she adds in a hushed tone. 

Alex’s bark of laughter is so loud that she spills half of the tequila onto her hand. Halfway through licking it off, she asks: “Do you usually wear your web shooter when you go to dinner with women?”

In any other situation, Alex would be absolutely mortified, but the tequila is working its way into her system and her sister making inappropriate jokes about women, unintentionally, was nothing short of hilarious. 

“Of course not - well, there was that one time with MJ.” Kara blushes at the memory of her college girlfriend and the many times she had been jumped with her suit still on. “So, potentially embarrassing situation number seventy-one is not likely to happen. But what about all the others!?”

“Ew, ew, ew, hold that thought, bury it deep down and _never_ let it come out. I do _not_ want to hear about you and MJ. Like ever.” Alex downs another shot hoping it’ll mind-wipe her. She stares into the empty glass with a frown when it doesn’t. “Okay nerd, then don’t go for drinks,” Alex shoots her eight tequila shot.

Kara throws her head back groaning loudly and slumps forward, her body falling unceremoniously across Alex’s lap in an adorable, dishevelled heap of nerves. 

“There, there,” Alex pats her back most definitely harder than necessary. 

Kara’s plight is all but forgotten after their tenth shot as the sisters spend the rest of the evening singing karaoke, very loudly and very off-tune, uncaring about the raging hangover one of them is bound to have come morning.

* * *

“Lena,” Kara whispers.

“Hmm...” She shifts in her bed, murmuring incoherently. Tentatively, Lena opens one bleary and unfocused eye to scan the room. _Was that - I’m going absolutely insane._

Lena turns onto her back and stretches her arms above her head, slowly and peacefully waking up. That is until she hears Spidergirl’s voice clear as day. 

“Are you up?”

“Holy shit!” Lena shoots out of her bed so fast she almost crashes into the chair in the corner of her room. Wide eyes spot the hero perched on the wall above her headboard, holding two cups of coffee. 

“Hi,” Kara waves at her in a nonchalant manner that’s both sweet and completely innocent, as if she hadn’t just been staring at Lena’s sleeping form after _creeping_ into her bedroom unannounced. 

Lena wants to say something, but she chooses to let her heartbeat settle instead.

“You should really close your balcony doors before you go to sleep,” Kara says casually as she drops down from the wall and bounces onto the pristine white sheets that cover Lena’s bed.

Lena’s eyes widen and she throws a pillow at the superhero, who irritatingly dodges it with ease. “Get your dirty feet off of my bed!”

“Shoot, sorry.” Kara chuckles and hops down, walking towards Lena with two styrofoam cups in her hands, one which she extends towards her. “Coffee?”

“A bribe?” Lena arches an eyebrow and notices her name written in cursive on the side of the cup and can’t help but laugh at the image of Spidergirl waiting in line to get them coffee. “I’ll take it if you tell me your name.” 

Kara frowns, the mechanical eyes squinting along with the motion. “That’s not how bribes work, Lena.” 

Lena narrows her eyes at the use of her name, but regardless she accepts the offered cup of coffee and hears Kara’s breath hitch and the hard swallow that follows. 

“Something the matter?” Lena asks with a devious curl to her lips, knowing exactly what was wrong: the boxer shorts and tank top she was wearing, which didn’t cover much of her skin. 

“N-no, I should - huh, what was the question again?” Kara trips over her words and realizes how this was probably a very bad idea.

Lena decides to take advantage of her flustered state, and every step she takes forward, Spidergirl takes backwards until her back hits the wall and she has nowhere to go, trapped between the drywall and Lena’s toothy grin. 

“I was asking for the name of the woman who entered my bedroom while I was sleeping.” Lena knows she’s pushing it and that she has no right to demand such an answer, yet it’s as if something predatory in nature blurs her common sense and decision-making process when the hero is around. 

“I can’t, you know that.” 

“No, I don’t.” 

“It’s complicated.” 

“Until it’s not.”

“I trust you, I do, I just -“ 

It’s not trust, Lena knows that much. She’s a certified genius after all, and sure maybe a certain superhero turns her brain to mush, but her deductive skills are still alive and well. “You’re afraid to let me in.” 

“Yes,” Kara breathes, coffee in one hand and Lena’s hip under her fingers. 

Lena pulls the red material over Kara’s mouth and nose. She feels a hand press into the dip in her back, urging Lena forward, and she complies by pressing her body against the taught muscular one in front of her. She hates herself for the feeling she lets blossom. A feeling that surpasses friendship, and even romance. Deep down, there was something timeless about the whole thing. Like they had done this push and pull routine in a different time and place. 

As she places a hand over the spider crest on her chest Kara jumps away briskly, ultimately breaking the intimacy of the moment. 

“Is everything okay Detective?” Kara speaks through her earpiece and Lena curses every single person that’s ever interrupted them. She’s beginning to think they exist only to take part in some grand cosmic joke to keep her and Kara apart. Trying to get a quiet moment with the superhero was like trying to snag a table at Rao’s in Spanish Harlem.

“I’m sorry, I have to -“ Kara pulls her mask down and points her thumb over her shoulder. 

“Go, it’s fine.” It is fine, Lena may have power as a businesswoman but she doubts she could ever convince New York’s criminals to take a day off. She does however, observe the quiet reluctance in Kara’s movements as she hops onto the railing of Lena’s balcony and turns to face her. 

“Let’s finish this talk later?” Kara voices after a moment’s hesitation. 

“I would like that.” 

Lena feels the sudden craving for Rao’s delicious meatballs, grasping just how much Kara had, in fact, rubbed off on her in more ways she’d like to admit, and one way, in particular, she was itching for. 

_Get it together, Luthor._

* * *

_You will not think about how good she looked in those boxers this morning. You will, in no circumstance, think about how her body felt pressed against yours. You will focus on the interview and you will be professional. Easy right? Right, I’m screwed. I’m done for. Game over. RIP Kara Danvers, AKA Spidergirl. Left too soon, because she couldn’t stop thinking about the perfect curve of Lena’s-_

Lena’s voice shatters her frantic thoughts and Kara can’t help but curse her entire existence. 

“Kara Danvers?” 

Kara wants to answer, she really does, but Lena is standing in front of her desk wearing a tight skirt and a blouse that fits her body like a glove and she knows, at this point, that she’s staring _staring_ and Lena probably thinks she’s some kind of perv. 

“That is your name, correct?” Lena inquires, amused as she reads the nameplate sitting on top of the desk that’s infinitely messier than the one in Cat Grant’s office.

“Yes! That’s me. I’m Kara Danvers. Kara is me.” _Kill me. Just end my misery_. 

“Wonderful, I’m -.” 

“Lena Luthor,” Kara promptly cuts her off with a smile she hopes conveys admiration but she fears it’s probably making her seem like a total stalker. 

Nonetheless, Kara wonders what song will be played at her funeral as she stands up and smooths her hands down over the material of her slacks, making sure her shirt isn't sticking out of them. 

“Nice to meet you,” Lena speaks with an even and neutral tone as she catches Kara’s outstretched hand in hers. Lena’s hand is warm and solid and Kara holds it for a second longer than necessary, and then there’s a brief crinkle on Lena’s brow. 

_Shit. She knows. She totally knows._

“Likewise,” Kara squeaks out something in a voice that is far from confident. Her fingers jump up to needlessly rearrange the glasses on her face, a motion that seems to jumpstart the hamster in her brain from moving again. Almost forgetting her manners quickly she offers Lena a seat and as she settles down in the chair in front of her, Kara pulls out a notebook, a pencil and a voice recorder. She prays at least ten times and barely holds herself back from doing the sign of the cross with her hand. Kara considers praying for the end of the world but decides it wouldn’t be fair to everyone around her.

Kara takes a moment longer to fiddle with the papers in front of her to regain control of her brain. When she’s sure she won’t implode, Kara lifts her eyes to meet the apprehensive and slightly guarded expression on Lena’s face. “Ready Miss Luthor?” 

“I’m all yours,” Lena says charmingly and Kara almost snaps her pencil in two. _This was a mistake._

Clearing her throat, and forcing out a smile that probably looks painful, Kara finds her voice and starts the barrage of questions as professionally as she can. “What can you tell us about Wilson Fisk?” 

“Well, for starters, he had his men kidnap me and held me at gunpoint when I refused to partner with him.”

“That must have been scary,” Kara remembers how confident Lena was that day and she smiles fondly at the memory. 

“I knew Spidergirl would find me.” 

“Sorry for prying, but could you elaborate on the nature of your relationship with her? How the partnership started,” she adds as clarification. Kara will always remember the day she met Lena. She burst into NYPD offices and demanded if there was a competent detective in this city, and that’s when both she and Alex stepped forward.

“Fisk attempted to steal diagrams of several projects I was working on after I refused to sell them to him. Sorry, rather, we were _suspicious_ he had something to do with this break-in. And our suspicions were confirmed when his men left a message at my door. Spidergirl and the NYPD couldn’t trace it back to him, however, but we were certain it was him.” 

“And you trust her?” _Hey, I can speak! Go me!_

“Oh, absolutely. I know some people aren’t too keen on vigilantes but as far as I’m concerned, Spidergirl is one of the good ones.” 

Kara’s heart flutters at the confident admission. They share a smile and she almost forgets she isn’t wearing her suit. Clearing her throat, she writes down some notes and focuses on the task at hand, which was to not panic. “Back to Fisk, what illegal operations have you and Spidergirl uncovered together?” 

The interview goes on for two hours. One hundred and twenty minutes of Kara agonizing over how soft Lena’s hand felt in her bare hand, forcing herself to forget how it felt on her face this morning and how it would feel running down her stomach. 

After Lena leaves, Kara is balancing herself on her chair’s two hind legs, her foot planted on the edge of the desk to rock herself back and forth, without so much as a spark of creativity to start writing the article. 

The pencil she’s balancing on her upper lip is flicked away and she looks back to see one of her co-workers, Winn Shotts, grinning down at her. 

“Hello fellow nerd,” he greets and sits in the corner of her desk. “Bad day?”

“More like bad writer’s block,” Kara looks up at the ceiling with a sigh. This article needs to be perfect or Miss Grant was most likely going to cut off her head and display it in her office as a trophy. 

“Lena Luthor personally comes to see you and you have writer’s block? How?”

Kara shrugs and balances another pencil on her face. 

“She’s like, you know, the most exciting woman in this city,” he leans in a little closer and adds: “smoking hot too.” 

Kara can’t blame him, she acts like a hormonal teen around Lena even though she is two years away from the big thirty. Still, she feels that as New York’s protector it’s her duty to defend Lena’s honour. “And extremely smart and kind,” she offers with a raised eyebrow. 

“Everyone knows that, but those legs - ow!” He rubs the sore spot where the pencil Kara launches at his face hits. “What did you do that for?” He whines and throws a crumpled ball of paper at her face in retaliation. 

It bounces from her nose to her lap and they both stare at each other, eyes narrowed in a showdown neither is prepared to lose. 

Kara crosses her arms over her chest, leaning forward while and taking a deep breath as she prepares to yell at him in a hushed tone: “For being a creep! Gosh Winn, keep your fantasies to yourself, you don’t have to subject me to them. It’s gross and wrong and I don’t want to hear it.” 

Winn scoffs and kicks one of the chair legs to make her lose her balance. He doesn’t seem surprised when Kara easily stops herself from toppling over. “As if you weren’t thinking the exact same thing, Danvers.” 

“Shut up,” Kara huffs, throwing another pencil at his face and laughing when it bounces off of his forehead and back into her waiting hands. 

Clearly needing to let out some pent up energy, Kara quietly disappears once Winn reluctantly moves back to his own desk. She stops a burglary, dangles a shoplifter to a lamppost, rescues a cat from a tree, and stops a high-speed car chase. 

Although the productive day of crime-fighting comes at the cost of one of her web-shooters that breaks down mid-swing and nearly causes her to crashes into an office building. “Aw man, you’re really gonna leave me hanging?”

A thought crosses her mind. Of course, it’s stupid and idiotic but, at this point, who can stop her? She calls Lena while waving at the workers inside the building who are staring at her, stuck to the window of their offices.

“Lena, hi! Do you, by any chance, have time to look at something for me?” 

* * *

“You made all of this yourself?” Lena asks as her finger traces the dark rim framing the white eyes of Kara’s mask. 

“Yup!” Kara announces proudly.

They’re standing in Lena’s lab. It’s fairly large, equipped with a medical bay, a testing room, and rows of tables with stools. Everything is clean, as one would expect, though there is one table in particular that has a few electrical components lying around. Near that table there’s a clear glass whiteboard, notes hastily written on its surface with a white marker and a touch of red. 

“How do they work?” Lena has a curious smile on her red lips even though she’s fairly certain she already knows the answer. Spidergirl is standing just in front of her, the inches she has over her is more prominent due to the fact that Lena isn’t wearing heels today. She leans back against the table behind her, and cocks her head, both interested and surprised by the hero’s extensive knowledge of mechanical engineering.

“There are sensors that touch the skin around my eyes and forehead so when the mask is on it registers my facial expression, then sends the signals to the mechanism and voila! You’ve got a Spidey that can emote.” Kara happily demonstrates by blinking a few times and then adopting a mean and menacing look by squinting her eyes. 

“That’s brilliant. You’re incredible,” Lena compliments, which is not something she does lightly when it comes to her area of expertise.

Kara chuckles and drops her head slightly as if to hide the blush that’s already covered. “Says tech genius, Lena Luthor.” 

Lena shakes her head in wonder. She was under the impression that the iconic spider suit had been fabricated by an accomplished scientist much like herself, perhaps even someone at Oscorp. It was definitely a nice surprise to find discover the creator was, in fact, standing right in front of her. “You flatter me.”

Shoulders lift momentarily in a nonchalant shrug. “Just being honest.” 

Lena turns around, grabbing the cylindrical bracelets Spidergirl has been using as web-shooters. “What would you think if, instead of repairing these bulky things - no offence,” Lena adds at Kara’s indignant huff. “We scrap this whole concept and make our own. Something sleek and small?”

“How small?” Kara questions with a hint of skepticism and Lena smiles - it’s the same tone Lena uses when her board of engineers scrutinizes one of her newest prototypes. 

“Let me see your hand,” is the soft command she gives Kara as she holds out her hand expectantly without turning around. Lena can feel the heat of Kara’s body as she walks up behind her wordlessly. The hand she takes in hers is bare and gloveless.

“The shooter could be a small wrist band here,” Lena explains as she trails her fingers across the back of Kara’s wrist. “The actual dispenser would be right here, _and_ it’ll be the only thing that shows outside of your suit,” she moves her finger at the base of Kara’s palm. 

_Did she move closer? Did I move closer?_

“Sounds like a plan,” Kara’s voice is lower than usual and Lena struggles to concentrate when the woman’s breath is close to her ear. 

Lena moves away from Spidergirl in favour of regaining some brain functions and wheels the clear board right next to the table. “Great, let’s get started,” Lena chucks a marker in Kara’s direction and pops her open. It’s like a flip is switched, the thrill of coming up with something new and better, to improve, takes over and fills Lena with a focused intensity unparalleled by anything else - except maybe when Kara’s body is close to hers and she can feel the heat radiating off of her in waves.

After about an hour of brainstorming the clear glass has a diagram of Kara’s hand along with the proper measurements. Alongside it are a few detailed drawings of the prototype web shooter broken up in sections for ease of assembly. There’s an arrow pointing towards the web dispenser and above it the word ‘TWHIP!’ scribbled in messy handwriting.

When Lena jots down new ideas Kara uses the very intricate smiley and frowny face system to give her opinion on the matter. Lena isn’t particularly fond of it, even joking it isn’t part of the ‘scientific process’, but the simple system does have its merits, so they stick with it. For now.

"Shoot, all this work for - oh there it is!” Kara happily chimes as she finds the sunflower seed she almost lost from the daring extraction process and throws it in her mouth. 

Lena glances up from the work table she’s leaning against to see Kara balancing her entire body weight on her index finger, upside down, on one of the stools. 

With an evil grin and malicious intentions, Lena picks up a handful of sunflower seeds from the pile Kara had dumped beside her earlier, much to her protests, and proceeds with the barrage of seeds that bounce off the woman’s body. 

“Hey!” Kara flips herself back onto her feet and swats away a sunflower seed aimed at her head. “What’s that for?” 

“You’re distracting me.” Lena throws another one and laughs when Kara catches it in her mouth. Lena’s not sure how it happens really, but the pair spends a shameful amount of time throwing sunflower seeds in each other’s mouths at varying distances, tallying up the score at the bottom of the clear glass board. 

“We’re tied,” Kara points out and Lena picks up the challenge in her voice. 

“What do you suggest?” Lens walks forward and lifts her chin slightly, folding her arms across her chest to assert dominance. 

“Sudden death round. Winner takes all.” Kara stands with her knees more or less bent, her fingers wiggling at her side as if she’s about to pull a six-shooter out. 

“You’re on.”

Even if that’s what they planned to do, the sudden death round turns into an all-out food fight as they pelt each other with sunflower seeds. Lena could never live down the way she squeals and snorts a laugh as they chase each other around the tables. Kara is holding herself back from vaulting over them to make sure the chase is somewhat fair. (Yes, it’s a metaphor for their relationship, give me props). 

Much to Lena’s surprise, she doesn’t care for the mess she’ll have to pick up later. In fact, not once does it cross her mind, especially not after Kara ends up catching her wrists in her bare hands to stop the relentless assault. She backs them up against the work table hard enough to jostle some of the equipment sitting atop it, but not hard enough to hurt Lena. 

“I thought we agreed on the rules, Lena!” Kara accuses in between breathless laughter. 

“Any advantage is a step forward to victory.” Her voice is sure and confident even if her wrists are pinned to her sides. 

“Inspiring quote, Miss Luthor, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re a dirty cheater!” 

“You have superpowers!” Lena shouts with a chuckle. 

“With great power comes great responsibility,” Kara snickers. 

Lena is acutely aware of how Kara’s body is pressed into hers even after she lets go of her hands. The mechanical eyes on Kara’s mask grow comically wide once her brain registers their closeness, yet she makes no effort to move away. 

“When are you going to kiss me?” Lena’s unsure when her mouth decided to move without her permission but she feels the barely-there twitch in Kara’s body and she thinks this might be it. That is until Kara looks at a spot above her head and Lena sighs inwardly. 

“Oh shoot it’s so late!” Kara jumps back and slings her carrier bag over her shoulder hurriedly. “I have work early tomorrow - today.” 

Lena glances over her shoulder at the digital clock that reads zero two hundred. “It seems we got a little carried away.”

“I blame you for starting a war.”

“Me? You instigated it.” Lena knows it’s far from the truth, but she greatly enjoys teasing the hero.

“Hm, whatever,” Kara lifts her chin in defiance and accepts the playful slap to her shoulder as punishment for her crimes.

“Before you go,” Lena fishes in her pocket and pulls out what looks like a plastic key card with the L-Corp logo printed on it. “I want you to have this.” 

“Lena…”

There’s reluctance in her voice, but Lena expertly brushes it off. “Come in whenever you want.” She holds it out in front of her between her index and middle finger. 

“That’s - wow, thank you.” Kara plucks it gently from her hands and slides it into one of the many side pockets her bag has.

“Oh please, you saved my life more times than I can count, this is the very least I can do.” _Besides, we can’t have that beautiful brain of yours wasted_ _on God knows what kind of unsuitable place you use as a lab_. 

Little did Lena know that Kara’s ‘lab’ was, in fact, a cluttered desk in the corner of her bedroom. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow - today, later?” Kara stumbles on her words lacking the grace she usually displays in her fluid movements. 

“Count on it.” Lena watches Spidergirl’s form leave through a door - a very rare occurrence - and she lets herself slump back against her desk. They made beautiful science together and Lena knows she’s absolutely ruined for anyone else. 

* * *

Later the next day - that day, Kara silently steps into the living room from the open balcony doors. “Lena, I have an idea!” She blurts out without alerting the unsuspecting woman of her presence. 

“Fuck!” Lena jumps and almost drops the bottle of scotch, briefly considers throwing it at Spidergirl’s head then rapidly changes her mind. “You really need to stop doing that before I actually need a pacemaker.”

“Sorry,” Kara apologizes sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck in a way that makes her seem innocent to the whole thing. She isn’t. 

“Drink?” Lena offers, holding up the bottle. 

“No thank you, I’m working.” Lena nods, yet as soon as she turns around Kara pushes her mask up and takes a tentative sip out of Lena’s glass. “Ugh,” Kara coughs when the bitter and strong alcohol assaults her taste buds and makes her shiver unpleasantly. “How do you drink this stuff?”

Lena, remaining silent, takes the glass from Kara’s hands and brings it up to her lips, sipping audibly with a pointed stare look that clearly answers Spidergirl’s question. 

“Ah! You’re funny. I like to think my great sense of humour rubbed off on you.” Although Kara is not going to say exactly which parts she wants to rub on Lena because that would be entirely inappropriate. _You’re a creep. Creep._

“So,” Lena drawls as she walks around the kitchen island and takes a seat next to the hero. “You said you had an idea?”

“Oh right! So, I was thinking about making a few modifications to the web shooter we’re working on,” Kara starts wildly gesturing her hands around with clear excitement and passion. Lena unquestionably hates how adorable it is. “Like sometimes during long fights, not all of them, I run out for a bit or - or the cartridges get stuck.”

“That can be dangerous.” 

“Yep, like plummeting to my death from thousands of feet into the air type of _bad_.” Kara’s voice takes a melodramatic quality as she speaks, “Spidergirl: street pizza in Times Square! Tune in for the full story at seven.”

Lena almost chokes on her drink and wipes away the liquid that spills on her chin with the back of her hand. “‘Street pizza’ is a bit graphic for the news don’t you think?” 

Kara’s eyes snap to Lena’s mouth, but she overcomes the distraction with every ounce of willpower she has. “It’s creative and gives you a good visual without forcing you to see it, ya know?”

“God, you’re adorable.” 

Kara chuckles and feels her face flush. This would be one of those times where she’s grateful for the mask she wears, but as it’s currently over her nose and exposing her cheeks, this is most definitely not one of those times. “I’ve been called worse things.”

“I’m sure,” Lena deadpans with another sip of her drink. 

Almost comically so, as if the planets are aligning perfectly, both Lena and Kara get a call. Their stares meet and Kara curses her bad luck and Fisk’s untimely interruptions. 

“Kara, are you with Lena?" Alex doesn't wait for the answer because of course, she is. "There’s been a breach of security at L-Corp tower.” Alex updates her sister with vague information. 

“On my way,” Kara is already moving towards the balcony and Lena is hot on her heels. 

“May I?”

Kara searches for the fear in Lena’s eyes, but all she can see is anger swirling in green. She understands the question without explanation, and without hesitating, she bends down to lets Lena hop onto her back. 

“The seat’s still warm,” Kara chirps and then immediately regrets it as it may be the dumbest thing she’s ever spoken aloud. 

“How many passengers do you usually take for a ride, you harlot?” Lena teases. 

She vaults over the railing effortlessly as if Lena’s extra weight didn’t bother her. “None! You’re the only one who’s ridden me in - I mean - just you.” _IDIOT._

Lena laughs loudly in Kara’s ear, having the odd sensation that they weren’t exactly on the subject of piggyback rides. “Good to know I’m special.”

“You are Lena.” 

Lena’s heart jumps at the suddenly soft and genuine admission. It was completely, irrevocably ridiculous how both women were dancing around each other. Lena recognizes the mutual affection, of course, she isn’t the only one enamoured in this affair. 

Spidergirl’s walls were thick to be sure and thought Lena couldn’t understand the pressure of having to protect an entire city, she is well acquainted with the fear of putting people’s lives at risk; hyper-aware of how a simple mistake could be disastrous. 

So, for now, Lena remains silent as she wraps her arms tightly around taught shoulders, presses her hands on Kara’s upper chest as the wind sweeps the loose hair around her face. 

When they land at L-Corp the scene is chaotic, flashing lights red, blue and white lights. Curls of black and grey smoke are rising in the air from the twentieth floor forming a thick cloud, and sirens are blaring so loud she wishes she could drown out the noise at the bottom of a bottle of liquor. 

Spidergirl helps stabilize the side of the building that was affected, and thankfully no one was working this evening so there was no danger of any casualties. That eases some of Lena’s worries. She knows Fisk is behind this, without needing the NYPD to tell her.

They find the device, a homemade explosive. Alex, Spidergirl and a new detective she’s never met examine the charred remains of the bomb’s casing. However, without any equipment, it’s a fruitless endeavour.

Lena walks up to the group and in a second all their eyes are on her, though Kara’s stare is the only one she feels as it bores and seeps into her soul. Without seeing her face, Lena knows it’s apologetic and caring and it makes her throat constrict. 

“I can take it to my lab, have a look,” she offers. 

“It’s NYPD property,” the Detective says in a tone that’s far from gentle, laced with distrust. 

Lena never backs down from a challenge, and as such, she takes a step forward and knows Kara’s eyes are on her the entire time. “I have advanced tools in my lab that could help.” 

The brunette mirrors Lena’s actions and places her hand over her belt where her badge is clipped. “Then you could let our technicians use your lab.” 

“I’m afraid my lab isn’t open to the public, and certainly not the NYPD,” _with their grabby hands and holier than thou attitude_ , which this officer had to a tee, in Lena’s professional and unbiased opinion. 

“Hiding something, Miss Luthor?” The detective snarks right back with enough bark to make Lena wonder if her bark is just as confident. 

“Excuse me?” Lena’s jaw clenches and Spidergirl steps half in front of her, facing the new detective.

“Lena wants to help,” Kara attempts to defuse the situation with her soft and friendly voice. 

“New York’s hero, on a first-name basis with _the_ Luthor. Charming.” 

Lena sees something flash in Alex’s eyes and she observes how the detective she’s acquainted with steps forward and wraps her hand around the brunette’s elbow, tugging at it. “That’s enough. We’ll log it into evidence and we’ll send Lena a full scan of it.” 

“Thank you, Alex,” Lena gives her a nod and doesn't spare a glance at the brunette detective who’s too busy glaring at Alex to notice regardless. She watches them walk away in a quiet corner and proceed to shout at each other, hands flailing and everything. Lena can’t hear but she’s smart enough to figure out what they’re arguing about. 

“Well, that went well.” Lena’s voice drips with sarcasm as she shifts her attention from the detectives yelling match to Spidergirl’s calm presence. “Who is that unpleasant woman?”

Kara sighs, her hands coming to rest on her spandex-clad hips. “Alex’s new partner, Detective Samantha Arias.” 

“She seems to like me.” Lena points out, and Kara chuckles. 

“She’ll warm up to ya, everyone does,” Kara offers with a wink and Lena smiles, letting it reach her eyes despite her prior annoyance.

“Now that we’re here -“ Lena starts and trails off, knowing Kara will pick up on the hint. 

Kara is feigning casual disinterest as she speaks, “it would be a wasted opportunity _not_ to progress on our project, right?”

Lena’s smile widens, the white of her teeth showing. “Right of course. What kind of innovators would we be if we didn’t capitalize on this opportunity?”

“Lead the way.” Kara motions with her hand and Lena obliges gleefully, the rude Detective far from her thoughts as she guides them through endless corridors that all look exactly the same to her private lab. 

They work quietly, mostly. When Kara takes a brainstorming break and walks upside down on the ceiling, deep in thought, Lena adds another entry to her list of ‘dorky yet endearing things Spidergirl does’. This particular list is stored in her head, she wasn’t foolish enough to leave a paper trail of something so unbearably embarrassing. 

“We should call it a night,” Lena grumbles as the fifth web cartridge blueprint she scraps. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Lena hears the concern in Kara’s voice but chooses the easy way out instead. “Tired.”

“I mean about the -“ rather than telling it, Kara makes a sound that Lena believes is supposed to symbolize an explosion.

“Beyond irritated and angry, and I’m sure that’s exactly what he wants,” Lena exhales sharply as she takes a seat in one of the stools. 

“He wants you to retaliate.”

“I can guarantee you he’s betting on it.” _Rat bastard. I bet he’s rolling a cigar in his hands right now, cackling like an idiotic hyena._

Kara is silent for a moment. “I’ll make sure the scans of the bomb’s shell are sent to you and we can work on putting away his oversized egg head in jail.” 

Lena’s shoulders shake as the creative insult forces a genuine laugh out of her, wishing she could see the proud grin Kara is most likely flashing at her from under her mask. “Thank you, for everything,” Lena breathes, running a hand through her silky raven hair. 

“Anytime.” 

Lena’s not sure who moved first, but their arms find them way around each other and Lena can feel the warmth of the woman's body through the suit that smells like soot and smoke. She presses closer still, not caring that her thousand dollar outfit will need a very extensive wash after. 

They hug longer than is platonically acceptable, their bodies huddled so closely she can almost feel the ripple of Kara’s abs through the thin spandex suit with every breath she takes.

Lena’s head reels like she’s intoxicated by her very presence, and it wouldn’t take much for her to give in to her desire and tilt her chin until their lips are moving together. Perhaps it’s the guilt she feels for the way she acted this morning, but Lena decides she would much rather respect Spidergirl’s boundaries. She starts calling every interaction they have ‘no pressure’ and it makes her feel a lot better about her almost animalistic need to have the hero pin her against every surface of every room they’re in together.

They promised to have a talk, but Lena communicates how she’ll let Kara progress at her own pace silently by letting her hands rest firmly on Kara’s back, and somehow, for some very odd reason that Lena still doesn’t understand, she _feels_ Kara acknowledging her apology. It’s weird but comfortable. Natural even. 

Kara pulls back from the ‘no pressure’ hug and lays a ‘no pressure’ kiss on Lena’s forehead and when they part Lena has shivers at the loss of warmth.

“Good night,” Kara’s voice is barely above a whisper as if she’s afraid to shatter whatever just transpired between them. 

“If you come by with breakfast tomorrow, do use the living room balcony _and_ knock.” 

“If this pleases the lady.”

Lena laughs a little too loud at the horrid accent and dorky way she curtsies. She forgets the jab she was going to toss out and a moment later then Kara is gone and Lena goes home to congratulate herself for keeping it in her pants with a glass of finely aged wine. 

_You need professional help._


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spidergirl tackles old enemies while trying to find a way to put Fisk behind bars while also struggling to keep her secret from Lena. You know, a normal day for the web slinger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't begin to explain how much I love writing this AU. Thank you everyone for your lovely comments, it really warms my heart to read them.

“What about a polycarbonate?” Kara suggests, speaking casually as she swings between the New York skyline, the mid-day sun beating down on the reflective surface of the window-clad buildings surrounding her.

“With your track record of saving this city from fires?” There’s a good-natured snicker on Lena’s end of the call. “I doubt that would be a very good idea. You wouldn’t want the cartridge to melt in the web shooter.”

Kara makes a simple mental note that Lena’s rich voice warms her more than the sun’s rays. “Right, it’s melting point is pretty low. I’m sure we’ll find something better.” Kara zips herself forward with a hard tug, suddenly remembering the food securely packed in her messenger bag. “Oh! And I hope you’re hungry because your favorite superhero is bringing you breakfast wraps from that place on 22nd street.” 

“The one with the-”

“Homemade salsa,” they both say in unison in a mirrored dreamy tone. The line is silent for a moment until they both dissolve into laughter.

“I’ll start the coffee,” Lena mentions and Kara hears the distinctive sound of coffee beans being grounded.

“Great!” Kara replies with her usual excitement. “Be there in a - what the hell?” 

It all happens in slow motion, the tingle she feels running up her spine and raising the hairs on the back of her neck. Turning her head towards the building she’s swinging across, her eyes grow wider as she recognizes Rhino’s imposing from behind the glass of the building, and he’s running straight at her. 

The glass shatters around him as she leaps forward and tackles Spidergirl in the building adjacent from the one he emerged from. The crash into the glass windows and Kara apologizes to the stunned civilians while they steamroll through a few cubicles. “Shoot, ow - sorry! Crap, I’m really sorry.”

“Are you alright? What happened?” Lena’s worried voice inquires into Kara’s ear.

“I got tackled in mid-air but I’m okay.” Kara breaths out with a soft groan. “Our breakfast though,” she sighs sadly as she pushes off the ground and sticks to the ceiling to avoid Rhino’s charge. “Not so much.” Screams and shouting from the panicked mass of workers in the room grabs her attention.

“No pushing! Make a line and safely evacuate - now that’s just rude nancy!” Kara shouts at the woman who pushes someone out of her way in order to escape the room quicker. “Don’t panic,” she drops to the ground and shoots a ball of web that collides and sticks to Rhino’s face. “Your friendly neighborhood Spidergirl is - oof!”

Rhino’s gargantuan shoulder collides into her chest and sends her flying backward, breaking through a few cubicles who were unfortunately in her path at the moment. Kara pushes herself up through the rubble of papers and various office supplies, groaning and rolling her shoulders to shake off the discomfort. “Who spiked your morning cereal with steroids?”

“Fisk sends his regards,” Rhino snarls in a booming voice that would intimidate anyone else.

“How is he doing? Does he talk about me? Does he miss me?” Kara rapidly fires the questions in a voice sweeter than sugar itself as she readies herself for another charge.

“Shut up, insect!” The man yells and springs forward, his feet hitting the ground with loud thumps as he rushes forward with a loud yell.

“Ah!” Kara chuckles and leaps up, spinning into the air and pushing off of Rhino’s back. She lands on an office chair and rolls backward with it, fixing her gaze on the beast who skids to a halt. “You’re laughing now, but just wait until someone bases their whole shtick around something silly like a bat!”

Kara hears Lena furiously typing away on a keyboard. “I alerted Detective Danvers.”

“You’re the best!” Kara exclaims as she vaults forward, zipping out of range of Rhino’s stampede. She watches the office chair roll out of the large Rhino-shaped hole in the glass they burst through. Quickly she webs it back in lest it crashes on an unsuspecting pedestrian below. “I have another call, hold, please. Alex hi!”

“We’re two minutes out. Lena couldn’t give us a precise location but she said you were close to 22nd.” Alex doesn’t question why Lena was the one who called or why she knew where her sister was. She stopped trying to understand their relationship a long time ago, she really didn’t want to deal with that headache. 

“Just look for the two buildings with matching holes,” Kara chirps in a voice that’s much too gleeful for the words that just came out of her mouth. Her mechanical goggles narrow as she spots the fire alarm and pulls it, knowing it’ll help the NYPD identify the building they’re in. 

Alex snorts, “wherever gaping holes are present, you-”

“Hold that thought, Lena’s on the other line. Hey! Sorry about that. Keep that coffee warm please.” Kara shoots two webs on either side of the arched wall that separates the office space in two and hops backward, pulling the web solidly along with her, arms are shaking from the tightly coiled force. Her grunts are not lost on Lena.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Lena asks with a twinge of worry. 

“I’ll be done before you know it. See you in a bit!” Kara takes another step backward, gritting her teeth as her fingers curl tightly around the webs grasped in her hands. “Do you know anything about spring resistance, Rhino?” The moment she lets go of the webs, her body is thrown forward.

She smacks into him hard enough to knock him off his feet and deftly lands on top of him, practically riding Rhino like a skateboard for a few meters. “I love physics!” Kara shouts happily. 

Once their momentum slows Kara bounces into the air, her knees tucked close to her chest as she sends two shots of webbing beside Rhino’s head. She tugs herself forward and plunges down, feet first, the force making them crash through the floor. 

Kara quickly zips herself to the ceiling and webs up Rhino’s feet, hanging up upside down far enough from the hole as to not compromise the structure of the entire room above. Her eyes dart around the room as Rhino attempts to swipe at her with his large hands, pleased to see this floor is deserted. In one quick motion, Kara webs his hands together behind his back and walks up under him, hands on her hips. “You don’t look so scary from this angle.” 

“Just wait until I get down from here, spider!” Rhino growls at the taunt and tries to shake himself loose by swinging his body around. 

Kara pushes his shoulder, making spin around while she webs him up until his head is the only thing that pokes out from the cocoon he’s now encased in. “This might just be my hunger talking, but you totally look like a burrito!”

A door crashes open and Alex’s unit enters the room, guns drawn in front of them as they move in a practiced tactical formation. “All clear,” Alex signals them to stand down and Kara feels a hand on her shoulder while Alex’s eyes scan her body for any signs of injury. “You good?”

“Yup!” Kara announces proudly, pointing at Rhino dangling from the ceiling. 

“He looks like a burrito,” Alex throws her head back in laughter at the unusual sight of the very large man hanging upside down, wrapped up in spider web. 

“That’s what I said!” Kara shares a high five with her sister and pulls out her phone from her backpack. “Come here, Lena’s going to want to see this.” She throws her arm over Alex’s shoulder who willingly complies and lets Kara pull her into a side hug. She lifts her phone, snapping a picture of Alex’s bright smile and the mechanical eyes of her mask comically wide as they both point at Rhino in the background.

She sends the shot to Lena, writing a quick message underneath it: ‘See? Nothing to worry about!’

“Meet me at the station,” Alex says, ordering her team to make sure the rest of the floors above them have also been evacuated. 

“Last one there has a stinky butt!” Kara exclaims as she disappears through the hole in the ceiling, a single fluorescent light dangling from it as she crawls through it.

“Who’s going to take him down?” Alex calls out to Spidergirl’s retreating back, her voice tinted with barely contained anger as she tries to forget that a grown woman used the words ‘stinky butt’ unironically. 

“Figure it out!” Kara yells back and vaults out of the broken window, texting Lena mid-swing. She sends a messy ‘Me ‘N u, police station’ with a winking emoji. Moments later another chat bubble appears and she smiles at the simple ‘omw’ hastily written. 

* * *

Lena is escorted to the interrogation rooms at the back of the police station, handbag on her shoulder and a cup holder tray with four coffees held securely in her hands. She thought about only bringing Spidergirl the coffee she had requested earlier, but seeing as they aren’t going to be alone Lena didn’t want to look like an affronted guest, she decided to bring some for the detectives as well. 

Sam clearly didn’t think much of her and perhaps coffee bribes were dull and common practice, but Lena was nothing if not insistent and dammit this woman is going to change her harsh opinion of her whether she likes it or not.

Once they reach the interrogation room labeled ‘3A’ the officer at her side nods at the door. “This is the one, Miss.” 

Lena thanks him and as she pushes the door open and Alex’s voice greets her, sounding clearly annoyed.

“Will you get down from there?” Alex hisses through gritted teeth. 

As Lena’s green eyes scan the room the first thing she observes is a wildly gesturing Alex leaning against the table in the middle of the room. Then, her gaze falls on Spidergirl who’s stuck to the wall opposite the two-way glass window, stuffing her face with the burrito from that place on 22nd who makes the homemade salsa. Lastly, Sam is leaning against the window, arms folded over her chest with an unreadable expression on her face as she scrutinizes the interaction in front of her.

“Hi, Lena!” Kara hops down from the wall and bounces up cheerfully and Lena immediately notices the way she straightens her back and takes a more imposing posture. 

_Showboating are we?_

Lena smiles warmly at Kara, before turning toward the detectives. “Hello everyone,” Lena delivers in a neutral tone, setting down the coffee tray on the table. 

“Oh, Coffee! You’re the best!” Kara is the first to rush and grab one of the styrofoam cups, taking a large gulp and then proceeding to inhale the burrito. Lena quirks an amused eyebrow when Kara abruptly stops eating, a very rare occurrence. Setting her cup down on the table, she watches her pull out a wrapped burrito from her backpack.

“It’s a bit squished and cold but it’s still totally edible,” Kara reassures with a small smile.

Lena chuckles lightly and takes the offered food with a quick thank you. This all feels so domestic, exchanging coffee for food. All that’s missing is a kiss on the cheek and a cute pet name that Lena would undoubtedly resent. 

She catches Alex’s amused stare but shakes it off when Kara begins to excitedly recount how she took Rhino down through mouthfuls of food. She shouldn’t be this attracted to a woman who has salsa smeared on the corner of her mouth, talking and eating a mile a minute and gesturing like a kid hyped up on sugar. Yet, there she was, handing her a napkin with an affectionate smile. Smitten like a kitten.

“Rhino won’t talk,” Alex comments with no surprise whatsoever as she leans forward to grab a coffee for herself. 

“That reminds me,” Lena opens her bag and produces a small flash drive, which she slides on the table towards Alex. “I recorded him admitting to being hired by Fisk during the fight.” _It’s not much, but it’s evidence nonetheless._

“You’re a genius!” 

Kara proclaims the compliment affectionately and Lena can’t help the flirty tone her voice takes when she replies. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

A throat is cleared and Lena takes a giant gulp of coffee under the pretense that she suddenly needs a ridiculous amount of caffeine in her mouth. From the corner of her eye, Lena is pleased to see the blush on Kara’s cheeks is rivaling the color of the mask that’s pulled over her nose. 

“So what are we thinking?” Sam breaks the awkward silence that has befallen the group of women, irritation evident in her tone. “Why did he switch his attention from Luthor to Spidergirl all of a sudden?”

Lena notices how Kara visibly tenses, but no Luthor would ever dream of backing down from a fight, nor do they let others fight their own battles. “I have a name, Detective.” 

Both Alex and Kara badly suppress a snicker and Lena can’t stop the devious curl of her lip, challenging the detective’s narrowed eyes. 

“He wants me out of the picture,” Kara observes, a little cautious about the silent battle unfolding between Lena and Sam. 

Lena nods in agreement. “Precisely. As much as I hate to admit it, without Spidergirl I’m an easy target.”

“We need to pin something on him. Anything,” Sam punctuates in an almost desperate manner.

 _What we need is more intel_ , Lena ponders but keeps this to herself. It would be rude to show a Detective how to do her job, especially when you want her to stop shooting daggers at you from across the room. “How plausible would it be to bug Fisk tower?” 

“Ah! Great pun,” Kara chuckles, giving Lena two thumbs up. 

“I learned from the best,” Lena answers with a purposeful wink she deserves only for the masked vigilante. 

“Can we take this seriously? And stop subjecting me to whatever the fuck this...” Sam gestures one hand pointedly between the two women, “is.”

Lena bites her lip to keep herself from saying something mean, like oh say, ‘that’s how friends interact. Do you, perchance, have one of those?’ But she keeps her mouth shut, as operation ‘make detective bitchy like me’ is in full effect. 

“Lena could hack in their security feed and guide me through it. We'll be like James Bond and whoever his sidekick is!”

Lena chuckles and shakes her head at the way the mechanical lenses winks at her. “The more dirt we have on him the better, and I’m no mere sidekick.” She adds with a chuckle, realizing that once again that they’ve caused a tense moment because of their unwillingness to stop flirting with each other. 

Thankfully, Alex cuts in at the right moment and minimizes the uncomfortable silence. “He’s careful though, he won’t get caught spilling all his secrets that easily.” 

“Big egos tend to make mistakes when they’re certain no one is watching,” Lena replies confidently.

“Hell no!” Sam almost shouts. Her eyes are on Lena the entire time, which was making Spidergirl jittery. Well, more than usual that is. “We aren’t sending a civilian in the field to do _our_ work.” 

“Technically speaking I’m a civilian too,” Kara chimes in with a voice that’s unusually lackluster, bordering on cold.

Lena’s eyes don’t move, her confidence doesn’t waver or falter. “Unless you can find someone else with my exceptional hacking skills, I’m all you’ve got.” 

“We can put a team of trained officers together,” Sam reasons as she lets her gaze fall on her partner, and it softens just a tad. 

“And how long is that going to take exactly? Until every villain and thug is on a manhunt? It’s clear Fisk wants to overwhelm her,” Lena points to Spidergirl who’s somehow inched closer to her. “Once she’s distracted, he’ll come for me.” 

“With all due respect, Miss Luthor,” Sam speaks in a tone that says the exact opposite, “this is all hypothetical.”

Lena lifts her chin slightly. The more resistance she gets, the more she gives. “I know him personally. None of this is speculative.” 

“And how close are you two exactly?” The detective shoots back, pushing off the wall but keeping her arms crossed. 

Lena’s jaw tightens at the implication of that statement, but she keeps the smirk firmly in place.

“This is going nowhere.” Alex cuts in. She sounds like she wants to snap at both Lena and Sam and she’s not sure who to berate first.

“I suggest we stage your arrest then,” Sam offers, brown eyes boring into Lena’s emerald ones. “You'll be safe in prison while Spider chick takes care of Fisk and his arsenal of deluded criminals.”

Kara huffs at the butchered name but remains silent. Lena is perceptive of the way Kara stays out of the quarrel playing out right in front of her, and it makes Lena’s fondness of the hero grow that much more.

 _Another Luthor behind bars. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?_ “No disrespect, _Detective_ ,” Lena speaks in a tone that clearly contradicts her statement, “but the only one who can keep me safe is Spidergirl.” 

“All those in favor of Lena’s plan,” Kara speaks while raising her hand. The only one who doesn’t is Sam, of course, who promptly storms out without another word. “Geez Louise, who peed in her morning oats?” 

Lena laughs, indulging in the jab now that the detective is out of the room. “I wager that would be all of us, including you.”

“But everyone loves me! Alex loves me, you love me.”

“I tolerate you,” Alex shoots back with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile. 

“Right, well, shall we plan this thing then?” Lena inquires with a grin, swiftly avoiding the subject of ‘love’ and ‘Spidergirl’ together in the same sentence, involving her, no less. 

“One detective, one genius, and one spider,” Kara’s voice takes on that familiar low timber.

Alex throws her hands up in defeat, giving Lena an apologetic look as if to say ‘I’m sorry you hate to hear _the_ voice’.

Lena wasn’t going to admit she quite liked the movie trailer narrator’s voice Kara was so fond of. At least not today, and certainly not in Alex’s presence.

* * *

Kara froze as soon as she saw a figure standing by her desk in the open area. The woman had her back to her but she recognized the legs that were confined in dark jeans, the hips jutting out as she pushed her weight on her dominant leg and the hand that comes to rest in the dip it created. 

When she turned around, a bright smile appeared on her face and tugged the pair of lips she recognized all too well. There were definitive signs of aging like the extra crinkles around her eyes that weren’t there ten years ago, or the subtle grey hairs making an appearance in bright, red hair. And somehow, it made her even more strikingly beautiful than the last time Kara had seen her.

“Kara!” The woman didn’t waste a moment to pull her into a tight hug, her hands instinctively going around her neck. 

“MJ?” Kara replies, surprise evident in the unravel timber of her voice. “What are you - why are you here?” She didn’t mean it to sound rude, really, she was just shocked. The last time MJ left New York, she thought she’d never see her again.

“I’m back. For good this time.” Her light chuckle was the same as always, carefree and a little absent-minded, like whatever she said was funnier than it truly was.

“Okay.” A quiet moment passes and Kara suddenly blinks as if she’s suddenly awake. “I’m sorry, gosh MJ, it’s good to see you again. You look great!”

“Thanks,” MJ urges forward to grasp the woman in another hug. This time it’s longer and more purposeful as her hands linger on Kara’s body. “So do you.”

 _Is she smelling my hair?_ Kara feels a little uneasy as she pulls back like the embrace was more intimate than friendly. But she didn’t stagger on that thought for long when her brain registered what MJ had said earlier in the conversation. _I’m back. For good._ “You’re moving back here?”

“I finished my degree. Well, degrees, plural. And, you know, California is nice and all but LA is…” MJ lowers her tone making a face as if she didn’t know what words to use, “scummy.” 

“She says to the New Yorker,” Kara quips with a chuckle. 

“LA doesn’t have a superhero,” MJ points out with a casual shrug. 

Now, if Kara had competent observing skills when it came to the women in her life she’d probably notice that there was more to that simple statement, that perhaps MJ came back to New York for her. Instead of noticing the red flags, she chimes in happily: “not every city is lucky to have such a great hero watching over it.” Kara means in a little closer, whispering conspiratorially in a hushed tone. “Not that I’m boasting or anything.” 

MJ laughs a little louder than necessary. And again, if Kara was observant, she would probably figure out MJ was flirting with her. “I missed...your sense of humor.”

Kara ducks her head shyly at the compliment she doesn’t receive often. Apart from Lena, of course. “Alex hates it.” 

“Well, Alex is also a grouch,” MJ retorts quickly and it isn’t lost on Kara. She and Alex really got along during the two years Kara dated her.

“Not everyone has a knack for comedy,” Kara pushes her glasses up and raises her shoulders slightly.

“Oh! That reminds me, I’m starting work today.”

“That’s great, where are you working?” Theater? A play maybe?

“Here.” 

Well, not quite what she was expecting. “Ah! You’re-“ Kara stops abruptly at the honest look in MJ’s crystal clear blue eyes. The same one she had when she said she was leaving her. Leaving the state of New York to go to Hollywood. “You’re serious.” 

“English was my minor and I enjoyed it more than _all_ of my acting classes,” there was a twinge of sadness in her eyes Kara couldn’t quite place, whether it was from leaving LA or renouncing her acting career, she didn’t know. “When I decided I wanted to come back here, what I wanted to do with my life, I told myself I’d want to learn from the best. So, here I am.” 

“That’s...great, MJ, I’m happy for you.” Was she really? Because there stood a woman who broke her heart and left Alex to pick up the pieces. A woman she wept tears over for weeks after their breakup. A woman that made her believe she’d never find someone else to love, until Gwen. 

“How about we catch up over dinner?” MJ asks, promptly changing the subject “Just you and me, as friends,” she added in order to ease the reluctance she observed in Kara’s eyes. 

“Sure. Yeah - yeah, we can do that.” There was no harm in going to dinner as friends with your ex, right? _Yeah, that’ll go well. You really are an idiot sometimes._

“Great! I’ll give you my number, it's new.” MJ’s bubbly and warm personality wasn’t at all affected by whatever ‘scum’ she had encountered in LA.

“Where are you staying? Did you find a place yet?” Kara asks while they exchange their numbers and Kara adds MJ to her list of contacts...again. She couldn’t imagine it was an easy task to find an apartment in New York in the middle of summer. 

“I’m staying with Harry.” 

“That’s good.” Kara curses inwardly at how curt she sounds. Harry has been a sore subject for them ever since they started dating, and she felt the twinge of hurt at the realization he hadn’t texted to say anything about her ex-girlfriend coming back indefinitely. To work at the Bugle. The place where Kara also worked at. 

Removing her messenger bag from her shoulder, Kara lets it drop it on her desk before sitting down in her chair, which squeaked in protest. “I should get to work.” 

“I have to meet with the boss anyway. See you around Kara!” MJ waves and gives Kara one last glance over her shoulder before practically bouncing towards Miss Grant’s office. 

Kara practically deflates and slumps backward over the backrest of the chair, wondering how she was going to juggle both MJ and Harry back into her life, while also keeping her secret alter ego from the woman she actually wants to go to dinner with rather than her ex. But as the former is her reality, she’d have to deal with that first. 

_Maybe Alex can help. Who am I kidding? She’ll just yell at me._ And this time, Kara wouldn’t blame her. 

* * *

Lena is currently engrossed in the formulas displayed on her tablet, her brow knit in serious concentration despite the music playing from Kara’s phone. She had asked her earlier if it was alright to ‘put on some jams’, claiming she worked better with music. It was absurd, Lena thought, but she couldn’t say no to her. 

_You’re a pathetic fool, Luthor._

Lena only started to regret her choice to say yes when the hero jumped up from her seat and began to dance and sing as if it was karaoke night at the bar. Her laughter echoed in the quiet room as her eyes were somehow transfixed on the way Kara was moving her body in a dorky, yet extremely coordinated manner. 

She shouldn’t be surprised considering the aerial flips Lena always sees her accomplish with such ease. She gives Kara a warning glare when she moves towards her with her hand out and the intent of pulling her into the sinful practice of not working on their project. Just like she had done with the sunflower seed contest. They’re both entirely too competitive for their own good, Lena thinks. 

However, dance was not something she was good at or something she had an interest in doing. “Whatever you’re thinking, the answer is no.” 

Kara places a hand on her chest as if hurt by Lena’s words but when she opens her mouth it’s to sing along with the music currently playing. “ _I said ooh girl, shock me like an electric eel. Baby girl, you turn me on with your electric-”_ And then she stops as if struck by thunder. “I got it! The voltage. Inverse the voltage.”

“Of course!” Lena groans, mentally kicking herself for not thinking of that solution earlier. “If we reverse if then - it worked!” There it was, the signal on the 3D model responding to the electric impulse tasked with delivering a charge of spider webbing.

“Thank you MGMT.” 

“We can start building the prototype,” Lena shakes her head fondly, reevaluating her own version of the scientific method and why it didn’t include spur of the moment dancing. But then she remembers she would never subject anyone to her horrible lack of coordination. “I would have stared at these formulas all night if not for you.” 

Kara scoffs, not convinced. “You would have figured it out without me.” 

“Perhaps,” Lena cocks her head sideways, her eyes roaming over the woman standing near her. “But it’s more fun with you around.” 

“ _And_ we make a great team.” 

“We sure do.” Lena felt Kara’s eyes on her despite the mask effectively hiding them. Her breath hitches in her throat when she watches her take a step closer and raise her hand, only to freeze in mid-air. 

“Lena, watch out!” Kara yells and in one swift motion she jumps forward and gathers Lena against her chest, shielding her from whatever had burst through the side of the concrete wall and sent rubble flying all over the lab. 

The second Lena opens her eyes they go wide at the sight of the large testing bench coming towards them rapidly, mere seconds away from squishing her and Spidergirl between the wall at Lena’s back.

Her moment of panic is replaced with astonishment as she watches how quickly Kara shoots two webs on either side of the room, pulling at them tightly as the test bench impacts with her back with a loud sound that makes Lena wince. It pushes Kara forward, but she lifts up her foot and presses it into the wall next to Lena’s shoulder and pushes back against it with every bit of strength she has, grunting loudly as her muscles clench.

Once Kara successfully prevents the bench from crushing them both, her body relaxes instantly and the two women are almost pressed together between the bench who now has a Spidergirl-shaped imprint in it and the wall behind Lena.

“Nice save,” Lena breathes, relief flooding over her and she can’t help the chuckle that escapes her mouth as she grips the woman’s biceps. 

“We were almost a spidey-scientist sandwich.” Kara jokes lightly, shoulders shaking in amusement.

“Spidey…” A low, scratchy voice beckons, cackling darkly.

Lena feels Kara’s back go ramrod straight and gathers she recognizes the voice.

“Let’s get out of here.” Lena nods in agreement and hops on Spidergirl’s back. She catches a glimpse of the red tendrils shooting out from the figure hidden under the symbiote suit as Kara easily vaults them both over one of the work tables. Pointy teeth, insidious grin, red symbiote, there was no denying who this was. 

_Carnage._

Lena tightens her grip around Kara as she feels the wind assault her face and her breath is caught in her throat, her stomach dropping as Spidergirl jumps out of the hole Carnage created. She’s never going to get used to this.

“Alex!” Kara shouts unnecessarily, zipping forward at a furious pace to put as much distance between them and Carnage. “So, it seems we’re in a pickle.”

Her coms come alive with Alex’s urgent voice: “Cletus is out.”

“And he’s on my tail,” Kara helpfully explains, swinging them forward faster with another grunt. 

Lena catches Kara’s large, black-rimmed eyes when the hero glances over her shoulder. She pushes her fear down and tries to communicate the trust she feels. She places her hand over Kara’s chest and a sense of serenity in the midst of chaos seems to sweep over her in that instant. Lena knows Kara feels it too.

“Keep him occupied we’ll-”

The next time Kara speaks, she appears to be less panicked and more focused. “I’m with Lena, Alex.”

“Shit. Where are you?”

Over the sound of the roaring winds, she briefly hears half of the plan Spidergirl and Detective Danvers put together. After a few minutes of moving through the city in mid-air, and much to her satisfaction, they descend on street level near an armored truck. When the doors open and Alex’s familiar face emerges, Lena guesses this is her stop.

They land on the roof of the truck and Lena lets Kara swoop her up in her arms as they jump down. When her feet hit the ground, Alex’s steady hand helps to hoist her up in the back of the vehicle. 

Her gaze catches the silent communication that seems to pass between Spidergirl and the detective as she lingers at the open doors, her curiosity peaked when she hears Alex reassure her that she’ll keep Lena safe. She chalks up the interaction to years of the pair working together in similar situations and doesn’t think there’s more behind it.

“Are you alright?”

The voice breaks her out of her thoughts when a hand squeezes her shoulder. “I’m fine,” Lena answers absently, green eyes watching Spidergirl swing away towards the danger and not away from it and she swallows thickly. 

_She’ll be fine. She’s Spidergirl. She’ll be fine. She has to be._

* * *

Relief floods Kara once Lena is safe with Alex and she can fully concentrate on the fight ahead. “First Rhino, now Carnage? It’s like a blast from the past,” she talks aloud to absolutely no one and pushes upwards into the peak of the web swing. Her eyes fall on the red symbiote holding a car over his head, filled with passengers. 

Without missing a beat Kara zips down on the street below and catches the flying car. her hand is pressed up against the hood, the other near the roof as she holds it upside down and feels her legs buckling underneath the weight. 

Gritting her teeth, she lets out a loud growl as her muscles strain and she fights to herself from tipping over with the vehicle in her hands. Once her entire body is tense she shifts forward on her right leg, thrusting her arms forward to lay the car on the ground as gently as she can.

She gives the grateful family a lazy two-finger salute. “Get out of here!” She yells between heaving breaths, hearing the screeching of tires as she catches a whiff of the unpleasant smell of burning rubber. 

“That wasn’t very nice, Cletus,” she says in a scolding tone.

A loud disembodied shrill comes from the symbiote: “WE ARE CARNAGE!”

“NO NEED TO SHOUT I CAN HEAR YOU!” Kara yells back, both hands covering her ears over the mask. Red tendrils shoot forward, points sharp as they swipe at Kara and she easily dodges them all, keeping her banter going as she does so. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry I got mad. I won’t yell at you anymore, I promise.” 

Kara jumps up and attached a web to the lamp post nearest to her, but the symbiote’s tendrils wrap themselves around her legs and her body is hurled down into the ground below, the pavement cracking around her back. “Ugh, that’s gonna hurt in the morning,” Kara coughs and flips herself in a standing position, knees bent. 

She brings her feet together as a fire hydrant and other items in Carnage’s reach are thrown her way, jumping up in a side aerial cartwheel. Twisting around, she webs the items against a building to prevent them from colliding with and harming any unsuspecting civilian.

“You’re making a mess, Clets,” Kara sighs and shakes her head. Her tone is leaning towards mocking rather than scolding this time. “Is it alright if I call you Clets?” 

Carnage springs forward with a loud shriek, wrapping their clawed hands around Spidergirl’s throat and lifting her up in the air.

“Alright,” Kara coughs, struggling to pry his hands away, “maybe...not...best...nickname,” she barely chokes out and sends a ball of web hurling into his face, but it only makes him tighten his grip around her neck and causes her vision to blur. _This is bad. Really, really bad._

The hairs on the back of Kara’s neck stand up straight and her eyes catch a glimpse of the bus cutting through the air, moments away from impact. Carnage loosens his grip at the distraction created and Kara manages to wrangle herself free and move out of her way just as it collides with the symbiote. He’s sent flying backward with it, the metal twisting and wrapping itself around his body.

Her eyes scan the area, shoulders deflating when she spots the familiar black and white symbiote suit a few meters ahead of her. They meet in the middle of the street, the symbiote mask on his face shifts lightly to reveal familiar brown eyes and dark skin.

“You good?” He asks with a nod of his head.

“Worried about me, Jimmy?” Her voice is strained a rougher than usual. _That’s gonna bruise,_ she thinks to herself. She could almost still feel his hands around her throat, squeezing the life out of her. 

“Never.” the symbiote moves to cover his entire face once more.

“Thanks for the assist.” Kara lifts her hand up, and instead of a hand like she was expecting, a black tendril slaps into her palm. “Ew did you just high five me with your…ew, never do that again. Gross.”

The symbiote chuckles and it sounds equal parts like James and the Alien that’s covering his entire body. 

Carnage emerges from the wreckage of twisted metal and dark, grey smoke. “VENOM!”

“He’s been screaming like that all day,” Kara sighs as if that was the most inconvenient thing about this entire situation. “It’s really starting to bother me.”

“Let’s go shut him up then.” A wicked grin spreads on the symbiote’s face.

“With pleasure!”

Kara shoots a web on the symbiote and tugs herself forward, punching him in the face and making him stagger from the momentum she gained. They trade blows until James shoulders him to the ground and repeatedly bashes his face into the concrete with his foot. Together, they confine him in a large web ball that they roll towards the NYPD armored vehicles quickly approaching.

“What the hell is that?” Alex asks as soon as she jumps out of the driver’s seat. 

“A ball of Carnage!” Kara snorts a loud laugh and shares a fist bump with James.

“He won’t fit in the truck.” Alex points out with a glare.

From the tone of her voice, Kara is fairly certain she wanted to add ‘you idiot’ to that statement, but somehow she kept it from spilling out because of the other agents well in earshot range. 

Shrugging, she turns to James and they nod at each other. Kara hops up on the roof of the truck, grabbing the oversized globe of spider web as James lifts it up to her. They secure it to the truck with more web. Once they’re sure it won’t topple over in transport, both of them watch their work with proud smiles hidden under their costumes. 

“I just want to say that I hate you both, _so_ much.” Alex punctuates her displeasure through gritted teeth as she closes the truck’s back doors with a kick, mumbling under her breath about how radioactive spiders and aliens from outer space ruined her life.

Kara catches a glimpse of sea-green eyes in the armored vehicles mirror on the passenger side. She lifts her hand in a wave and Lena acknowledges her with a smile and furrowed brows that seem to relax as soon as they make eye contact. 

She wants to walk forward, open the door, pull Lena in her arms and kiss her until they can barely breathe. Tell her she’s okay and that there’s no need to worry. And Lena would tell her the same thing and then they would kiss again. Instead, she shoots a web at a nearby building and swings herself home, desperately needing a shower. Perhaps even a cold one.  
  


* * *

Kara is leaning against the metal railing of the fire escape ladder. The window behind her that leads to Alex’s kitchen is open and she hears her sister cursing quite clearly amidst the otherwise peaceful evening. 

“Fucking hell! I have about a million bottle openers but when I need one, guess what? I can’t fucking find any of them.”

Kara chuckles and leans forward on her forearms, listening to cars on the busy street down below and the chatter of Alex’s neighbors getting louder as the night progresses. 

Alex clambers out of the window with a low grunt, grumbling something about not being agile as a spider. “I hope you enjoy the beer,” Alex starts with an annoyed huff. “I had to call in the bomb squad to find the stupid bottle opener.” She leans her back against the metal railing beside Kara, head turned in her direction.

Kara rolls her eyes at her sister’s dramatization of the event but lets out a chuckle despite herself. She accepts the offered beverage with a nod. “You know I could have opened them, right?”

“And break the bottle like you did last time? I like my stout without glass, thank you very much.” 

“That’s nonsense, it’ll build up your immunities...or something,” Kara adds with a crinkle of her brow as she brings the beer bottle to her lips and tips her head back. 

Alex makes a face and briefly wonders if her sister is alien. “Me and the seven billion other people that currently live on this planet are really thankful you aren’t a doctor.” 

“Well if it isn’t the Danvers sisters.” James greets the pair with mock surprise, taking a pull of his own beer as he descends from the the stairs, his apartment located one floor above. 

“Hey, Jimmy!” 

“Sup James.” 

“Nice night,” he observes casually, resting his shoulder against the red brick wall of their apartment complex. He’s wearing a white t-shirt that shows off the sculpted and athletic shape underneath the soft material, a far cry from what he usually wears at work. 

If Kara’s mind wasn’t already occupied by a certain scientist, she would be having not so friendly thoughts about her friend right about now. Not to mention his timely save today prevented her from dying and having to haunt Alex’s apartment for the rest of her undead life.

“Sure, if you ignore the stink of the sewers and garbage,” Alex responds in her usual sullen manner. 

“Ah come on Alex! It ain’t that bad all the way up here.” 

“Ignore her, she’s moody,” Kara shoots back with a wink. 

Alex snorts, “Says you. ‘Woe is me, I like this really smart and pretty woman but I won’t tell her because I’m a stupid idiot with my head so far up my-“

“I don’t sound like that,” Kara cuts her off sharply, the frowns at the high-pitched tone her sisters used. 

“Still haven’t told her, huh?” James berates, though it’s said in concern for his friend. For the woman who saved his soul years ago.

“No,” Kara answers with a dejected sigh, curling her hand around the railing and taking another gulp of the beer. 

“She’s not going to wait forever for you to get your ass in gear,” Alex points out.

“As much as it pains me to say it,” James presses a hand on his chest, sending the detective a toothy grin. “I have to agree with Alex.” There’s an indignant shout and a shoulder being swatted in retaliation for the friendly jab. “But seriously, what exactly are you waiting for Kara?”

Kara moves her eyes, free of the glasses she stuffed in her jeans pockets a while ago, towards Alex and notices how her irritation is replaced by understanding. “What if - what if she doesn’t like-“ She cuts the sentiment short to gesture at herself, “Kara Danvers. What if Spidergirl is the only thing she wants?”

“You’re more Kara Danvers with her than Spidergirl.”

Kara frowns and fiddles with the label of her beer, scratching at it with her thumb, hating that Alex was right and she’d have to admit it out loud.

“Lena’s probably really grateful for the times that Spidergirl has saved her life, but that’s not what makes you fall in love with someone.” 

Kara stares up at the dark blue sky, bright city lights hiding the cover of stars above their heads. Was it really that simple? Remove her mask in front of Lena and ignore the worries gnawing at her, clawing at the back of her head and making her believe that something horrible bad is bound to happen?

“See? James gets it. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She definitely likes the stuttering, hyper and messy eater that you are underneath all the flips and ridiculous strength.” 

“Wow thanks,” Kara retorts sarcastically. “Shithead,” she adds under her breath thinking it would fall on deaf ears, only realizing it didn’t when Alex’s hand smacks her elbow roughly and causes her to spill some of her beer on her white sneakers. _That’s gonna smell later._

Kara was finding it harder to justify keeping Lena in the dark. It wasn't to protect her, that much was clear. Lena was a fighter and regardless of what she said today, she can definitely hold her own. Alex, MJ, and James all know and they’re still here. Nothing catastrophic happened to them and the world certainly didn’t end. 

_MJ,_ Kara sighs internally. “Also, MJ is back in town and I’m pretty sure she asked me out on a date and I said yes.” 

“What?!” Both James and Alex exclaim, eyes wide. But somehow, they’re not all that surprised. 

“I mean, not intentionally...I don’t think.” Kara rubs the back of her neck with a pitiful look on her face. 

“Kara, how the hell do you not know if it’s a date or not?” Alex demands to know why her sister is both the smartest and the dumbest person she knows.

“She said she wanted to catch up over dinner, as _friends_.” She purposefully lingers on the word ‘friends’ so they can get an idea of why the offer was so confusing to her, but it makes them both shake their heads and sigh instead. Like it was some inside joke she didn’t get.

“Of course she did, she doesn’t want to label it until she’s sure you two still click as a _couple_ ,” James explains, bringing Kara in for a side hug once he’s unable to look at her pathetic pout any longer. 

“I wish people would just tell you what they _really_ want to say instead of lying.” It was ironic how that statement applied to every romantic relationship she’s ever had.

Alex looks like she really wants to push Kara over the edge of the railing. “Do you listen to yourself talk?” 

“I know, I know. I’m a dumb, clueless hypocrite.” 

“She’s learning at least,” Alex responds with her eyes firmly on James, who almost spits out the beer in his mouth. 

“Screw you guys.” They remain silent for a while after the friendly jabs subside. Kara is deep in thought, weighing their words carefully. Still, she can’t quite make up her mind.

“What about you Alex? Any blossoming romance on the horizon?” James inquires with minimal theatrical prowess.

“Yep, her name is Samantha Arias,” Kara calls out almost immediately.

Alex nearly chokes on her beer. “Are you insane or just blind?”

“Please, she actually listens to you. Which is about as civil as she gets with anyone.” 

“The is nothing between us,” Alex proclaims with a glare directed at her sister. 

“You say that now, but you just wait until you’re on a stakeout and it’s just you and her.” Kara turns to James and waggles her eyebrows, “that’s how it always starts in crime novels.”

“I’m going to have to stop you right there-“

“And after days of being alone together and having absolutely nothing to do, cooped up in a van together for hours-“

“Long stakeouts are usually done in apartment buildings or hotels-“ 

Somehow, Kara knows her sister really regretted sharing that tidbit of information with her. “Even better! You enter the room and oh no,” Kara gasps, “there’s only one bed.” 

“I will murder you and hide the body.” 

James referees the wrestling match that breaks out and gives the win to Kara once Alex taps out of a headlock. They spend the rest of the evening at the arcade down the street even if it’s painfully obvious they’re the oldest ones there, but after several tequila shots and a few beers, it doesn’t bother them as much. 

Still, Kara can’t help but feel like something is missing. The feeling that Lena should be there with them is nagging her, more than any of her fears. She finally makes a choice and hopes it won’t come back to bite her in the ass. Figuratively speaking. 

Now she just has to figure out _how_ to tell her.

_Hey, I’m Kara Danvers. I interviewed you about myself. Cool right? Ugh, lame._


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara is injured in a fight, James and Lena do the impossible to save her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my province is finally in quarantine! So I'll have more time to write and such. I hope you enjoy this one, and thank you again for your lovely comments!

Kara’s fingers wrap around the gold-colored handle attached to a dark oak door leading into her favorite steakhouse in Manhattan, and she finds herself second-guessing every decision she’s ever made in her life up to this point. 

_God, what am I doing?_

Could she and MJ really be friends after everything that happened between them? After she left Kara and hasn’t so much given a sign of life for _years_ , and then decided to turn up at _her_ place of work like then years hadn’t passed. Like college graduation happened yesterday. 

“Are you goin’ in or are you gonna stand out here all day?” The man’s New York accent is unmistakable, common for people who live in this part of the city.

Kara jumps at the voice coming from behind her. Instinctively, her hand goes to her glasses as she apologizes and finally enters the restaurant, feeling the man brush past her and join his friends at a table nearby. His rude manners are soon forgotten when the delicious and familiar smells hit her at once. Her stomach responds immediately, pleased that it’ll get fed soon. 

The restaurant looks exactly like what you’d expect a steakhouse pub to look like. A long, one-sided booth and tables line the wall to Kara’s right, stopping just shy of the burgundy-colored bar. Various NYC sports teams' flags cover the walls, as well as a few medium-sized flat-screen TVs.

The wall to her left is exactly the same, and that’s where she spots MJ’s sitting down on the booth side. Her eyes light up, smiling brightly as she waves Kara over. _Right, this is just a diner with a friend. It’s fine._

MJ sits up, throwing her arms around Kara’s neck the moment they’re close enough, and when she makes a move to step further into the embrace Kara jerks back just out of range. It was ridiculous really, she didn’t want to linger in the hug to give MJ the wrong impression when she had already accepted to have dinner with her. _You do everything backward, huh?_

Kara sheds her jacket, draping it across the back of the chair just before she pulls it back and takes a seat.

“You look great,” MJ compliments as she sits down again, crossing her legs and taking the straw of the fruity and multi-colored drink into her mouth. Sipping slowly, she lets her eyes roam over the familiar build of Kara’s body, subtlety far from her thoughts. 

Kara smiles, but it’s forced and she knows MJ can tell. So, she averts her gaze and chooses to peer down at her outfit consisting of exactly what she had thrown on this morning to go to work with: A grey sweater over a white button-up shirt and khaki-colored Chinos held together with her favorite brown belt. Her hair is tied back into a simple french braid.

Pulling up the sleeves of her shirt, Kara’s gaze meets the blue of MJ’s eyes. She observes the way her make-up is impeccable and her hair neatly groomed, if not a little over-done. _Not a date. This is not a date._

“You look like,” Kara gestures at the woman sitting across from her with her hand, “you.” 

MJ raises an eyebrow and bursts into laughter. “You still suck at flirting.”

“I’m not f-flirting,” Kara stutters on the word like she had been accused of something terrible, like stealing or murder. 

“So what _are_ you doing?” MJ inquires, her lips wrapping around the straw now stained with her lipstick. 

Her eyes snap to MJ’s lips despite herself and she looks away almost instantly. “Catching up with a friend,” Kara echoes the woman’s words from their conversation at the Bugle earlier this week.

MJ leans forward on the table, a smile on her lips and a dangerous glint in her eyes. And cleavage, too much cleavage for Kara’s comfort. “Right, so tell me how you’ve been.”

“Good. Busy.” Kara isn’t known for one-word replies, and MJ is well aware of that fact. She prays that MJ is not thinking her lack of chatter that usually marks all her social interactions are caused by her former girlfriend’s attractiveness and current appearance. “No rest for the wicked, right?” Kara adds with a slight chuckle. She restrains herself from the wink she wanted to use to punctuate the words with. 

MJ’s mood changes as she stares into the glass set in front of her, contemplating quietly. “I guess your _other_ job is still taking all of your free time?”

“It’s not just a job MJ,” Kara’s quick to correct her and feels a twinge of guilt at how harshly the words came out. “It’s important.” 

“I know,” she deadpans, just shy of sounding irritated. “But you always put _that_ part of life over everything else.” 

She was right, of course, but _with great power comes great responsibility._ “I do other things. I have a _real_ job and friends.” _And Lena. I have Lena. Well, Spidergirl has Lena. Maybe she won’t stick around when she finds out I’m just a nerdy reporter who still goes to arcades._

The waiter comes by to take their order and he looks skeptically at Kara who orders two racks of ribs and an entire order of chicken wings for herself, but nonetheless he quickly brings her a beer and excuses himself, leaving the two alone once more. 

They’re both silent, Kara working to rid her thoughts of Lena while she desperately attempts to figure out if she can be friends with the woman sitting in front of her who just happens to be her ex-girlfriend. The one who is throwing shy glances at her at every turn. The one who places her hand on her forearm every time she asks her a question. Safe to say, Kara was skeptical. Still, her mind is wandering the dark-haired woman she wishes was in MJ’s place, and it makes her feel like a total asshole. 

“I never got to tell you,” MJ starts hesitantly, “but I’m really sorry about what happened with Gwen. I wish I-”

Kara’s jaw instantly clenches at the mention of her late lover. “You do not get to speak her name.”

“She was my friend too,” MJ shoots back, Kara’s words stinging more than they should.

“You weren’t here, MJ! You didn’t even come to the-” Kara takes a deep breath, swallowing thickly. Anger is not something she succumbed to often and the surprise on MJ’s face at the cold bite of her words was clearly evident. “What do you want, MJ? Really, what do you want from me?”

“I miss you,” she replies honestly after a short moment of silence. “I missed you every day since.”

It takes everything in Kara’s power to not lose control and yell at MJ for her foolish and delayed confession. She misses her? How dare she after all that she put her through. “You left _me,_ remember?” 

“And I regret it every single day.”

“I can’t - I’m not doing this.” Kara stands up, the chair screeching on the hardwood floor behind her. She throws a few bills on the table, enough to cover the meal that has yet o be served.

She hears MJ calling out her name as she walks out of the restaurant but she doesn’t look back, not once. Not until there’s a hand on her elbow and she stops moving in the middle of the sidewalk. Turning around slowly, she meets MJ’s eyes filled with unhushed tears. People pass them by, paying them no mind.

“Can we start over, please? I don’t wanna fight, not with you.” There was a definite sense of urgency in her tone like she desperately _needed_ Kara to agree. 

“This isn’t going to work out. I’m sorry.”

MJ lets out a laugh but it’s humorless. She takes a step back. “So the rumors are true, about Spidergirl and Lena Luthor.” Her blue eyes are nothing if not icy.

“Harry’s waiting for you,” Kara snarls and nods at the luxury vehicle parked across the street. Her eyes lock with the man she thought was her best friend and she walks away the moment he offers her a small smile, pretending she didn’t hear MJ’s choked sob. 

She lets her phone’s GPS guide her to a nearby restaurant, reading reviews about their ramen to make sure they’re adequate, of course. After ordering, she easily finds Alex’s contact info and presses the call button with her thumb, crossing one arm over her chest as she lifts the phone to her ear. 

“Kara, hey, what’s up?” Alex answers from the other end of the line. 

“You hungry?” Kara glances down at the watch on her wrist. It was only seven, there was no way her sister had already eaten dinner. 

“Aren’t you with MJ?” Alex questions and Kara rolls her eyes at the frown and slight quirk of her lip she imagines is firmly planted on her sister’s face. 

“Did you eat?” Kara repeats, impatience in her tone as she pays for the order and the lady behind the counter smiles at her despite her client’s noticeable sour mood. 

“No. Kara, what’s-”

Kara promptly cuts her off, mouthing a thank you at the woman as she’s given a bag filled with delicious food her grumbling stomach is beyond ecstatic about. “I’m getting us Korean. I’ll be there in twenty.” Alex doesn’t answer and Kara doesn’t let her. 

She takes the subway home and manages to only wallow in self pitty half of the way to Alex’s apartment with thoughts of failed relationships falling to circumstances out of her control. She wonders how her relationship with Lena could go wrong. A scandalous affair perhaps. 

Her fear of being inadequate for the beautiful and brilliant scientists was definitely misguided, and it wasn’t very productive to imagine the impending doom of a relationship that didn’t technically blossom yet. 

Kara crosses the threshold of Alex’s front door wordlessly, discarding her jacket on the kitchen island and climbing out of the window that leads to their usual eating spot on the fire escape balcony.

“I’m going to guess it didn’t go well?” Alex clambers out of the window only cursing slightly this time around. She would make a joke about having to work too hard for her meal but she senses now is not the time for idle chatter or sisterly bickering. 

Kara scoffs but continues shoveling the noodles in her mouth at a pace unrivaled by anyone else, the chopsticks not slowing her down one bit. They eat in silence and though her stomach is satisfied her anger remains the same, bubbling at the surface and threatening to spill over at any moment. 

“Wanna tell me about it?” Alex takes Kara’s empty takeout container and throws it in the bag at their feet along with hers.

“She doesn’t get it.” Kara’s gaze is set on anywhere but Alex even though she feels her staring intently. Analyzing, wondering exactly what to say to help Kara, and it warms her heart just a tad. 

“Doesn’t get what?”

“She thinks she can come back after ten years and pick up where we left off like she wasn’t the one who left me. And - and she talks about Gwen like she actually gave a crap - like she was here when she died. She didn’t even come to the funeral, Alex.” Kara stares at the white-knuckle grip she has on the railing, the metal twists and bends under her fingers. 

She shuts her eyes tightly when Alex’s hand begins rubbing soothing circles between her shoulder blades. A tear drops on her hand and Kara pulls her glasses on top of her head, angrily wiping the tears stinging the corner of her eyes. 

Alex’s arms circle her waist and lift her chin to rest on Kara’s shoulder. Sighing, she leans into the comforting embrace and slowly her grip on the railing lessens. 

“I know you. You want to do the noble thing and be friends because you’ll see each other at work all the time and you don’t want to be weird. But trust me, it’s only going to bring shit up. Shit you don’t have to deal with.”

She’s right, of course. Alex was always right. Older and definitely much wiser about relationships than Kara was. After her sister and Maggie’s nasty breakup, the rookie cop had requested a transfer and was moved to another precinct far from Alex. Her situation with MJ is different, sure, but Kara trusts Alex’s intuition. More than her own at times. 

“Thank you.” Kara whispers, kissing the top of Alex’s head and squeezing the arm around her waist. She knew she’d have to apologize to MJ, what she said wasn’t fair to either of them. She’ll also have to tell her that they will have a strictly professional and work-related relationship from now on. 

“What would you do without me, huh?”

“I’d be broody and frowny. Like, a lot more. Maybe I’d even turn into the Hulk, who knows.” Kara jokes, feeling a lot better than she did moments ago and Alex immediately picks up on it. 

Chuckling, Alex makes a face at the image that enters her head. “Green isn’t your color.” 

“Hm, you’re right.” The corner of Kara’s lips lifts in a genuine smile that makes the area around her eyes crinkle adorably. 

“And unlike him, you aren’t part of the Avengers.”

“Thanks for reminding me, that makes me feel so much better!” Kara exclaims sweetly, but the glare on her face and the shove she gives Alex’s shoulder tells a different story. 

Alex retaliates with a flick to Kara’s nose, who opens her mouth as if to yell, but closes it and huffs indignantly instead. “Hey, I’m just doing my duty as the sister of a superhero, which is to make sure your ego doesn’t get too big.”

“You said duty.” Kara chuckles and Alex stares at her blankly. 

“I guess it’s my fault,” she sighs dramatically. “I did drop you that one time we climbed the tree at mom’s.” 

Kara will always remember the pain of having her elbow pop out of its socket. “Weak like you are? It didn’t surprise me.” Kara barely got all the words out before she’s jumping through the window to avoid Alex’s wrath. 

“Yeah, you better run!” Alex is on her six instantly but she’s blindly tackled on the living room couch. After a few moments of laughing and grunting, Alex takes the upper hand. Her legs are tightly secured around Kara’s waist from her position behind her sister, arms around her neck in a headlock. There’s a self-satisfied smirk on her face as she waits for Kara to tap out.

But Kara has a better idea. She’s much stronger than Alex, and they couldn't exactly wrestle as roughly as they did when they were kids. This fight wouldn’t be fair, and Kara wasn’t about to throw a match to lose one point in their ongoing rivalry of endless challenges. 

“I challenge you to Mortal Kombat!” Kara blurts out and instantly the grips around her loosens. 

“UMK3.” Alex lets her go and straightens her flannel shirt. “And don’t even try it, this version doesn’t have the infinites,” she points accusingly. 

Kara rolls her eyes, throwing her glasses on the coffee table. “As if that’ll save you from my Smoke.” 

“Not if my Jax has anything to say about it.” Alex retorts. 

“First to ten?” Kara watches Alex grab two beer bottles from her fridge. She accepts the offered drink once Alex plops back down on the couch. 

“You got anywhere else to be?” Alex asks, setting her beer down by her feet on the floor. 

“First to give up it is,” Kara leans forward on her legs in the most effective and widely used gaming position. One which Alex adopts as well, lest she blames her losses on it. 

Kara vaguely remembers a tied score before they both fall asleep on the couch. 

* * *

Lena is quietly working on assembling the first prototype web-shooter, absently throwing glances at the phone face up on the table near her. The last message Kara had sent her is lingering on the messenger app, taunting her. _Hey! I got something I wanna show you, mind if I come by in a bit?_

‘In a bit’ was a few hours ago and there is still no sign of the vigilante. Lena was starting to get a little worried even if the rational part of her brain reasons she could have gotten roped in to help with a fire or a robbery, but the part of her that is always concerned for Kara’s safety makes her believe perhaps Fisk got to her.

Still, Lena pushes her worries down to finish the web-shooters. As she’s slipping the _aluminum_ cartridges in one by one, her phone dings quietly and a news headline pops up on the screen: BATTLE ERUPTS IN UPPER WEST SIDE - _KNOWN VILLAINS SCORPION AND DOC OCTOPUS ESCAPE: SPIDERGIRL INJURED?_

Lena instantly pales, the ringing in her ears replaced with the loud thuds of her erratic heartbeat. She hears shuffling behind her and when she spins around her eyes fall on Venom’s large figure. He must have crawled through the gigantic hole currently under repair and tapped with blue tarps. Or, previously tapped, as they now flap wildly in the wind behind the masked hero. 

“I know you don’t know me and you have no reason to trust me, but she needs your help.” The symbiote retreats off of James’s face and recognition flashes in Lena’s emerald eyes. She had seen him at the Bugle from the few times she visited the building. More than that, she knew his name from the articles he’d written. “She asked me to bring her here before she passed out.” 

That seems to snap out of her stupor, her eyes falling on the limp and bleeding body in his arms. “Med bay,” Lena chokes the words out, surprised she’s even able to speak at this point. Her hands tremble as she pulls the clean sheets back from one of the gurneys in the room. 

“Wait,” she tells James just as he was about to lay Kara down. “We have to cut the suit off to clean the wounds.” The usually pristine suit was practically in tatters, barely hanging off of the strong body beneath. There was a large puncture wound in the middle of Kara’s stomach as well as gashes all around her arms and torso. The boxer briefs and the sports bra underneath are stained with blood and dirt.

Taking a deep breath, Lena lets her gaze land on the mask. The broken lenses, the blonde curls spilling out. Half of her face was showing and the sunny and warm smile of the reporter who interviewed her weeks ago flashes in her mind, _Kara Danvers_. 

Lena throws a pair of surgical scissors at James as she rips at the antiseptic wipes packaging with her teeth. “Are all reporters in this damn city superheroes?” 

James chuckles despite the situation as he sheds the rest of Kara’s suit off. Once Kara is in nothing but her undergarment, he effortlessly lifts her body onto the gurney, gently laying her head down on the pillow.

“Well?” Lena asks almost impatiently, examining the various wounds and counting at least five that will definitely need stitches. She slips a pair of gloves on, knowing it isn’t exactly the most sterile of environments but as she’s slightly pressed for time it’ll have to do. “Can you…” Lena’s eyes take over the symbiote suit on his body, trying to find the right words. He seems to understand and the symbiote disappears, revealing his regular clothes underneath. Lena pushes a pair of gloves into his chest forcefully then turns her attention to the beaten body in front of her, meticulously cleaning the area around the hole on Kara’s stomach. 

“No, just us.” James answers finally and Lena scoffs, shaking her head. She wasn’t mad, truly, it was just a tad ridiculous. Though, she supposes they don’t have a choice to hide in plain sight and take somewhat low profile jobs.

Lena isn’t sure how Kara’s healing factor worked, or if she actually needs to stitch the wounds as her hand hovers above the suturing kit. She settles for dissolvable stitches and gets to work, closing the gashes James cleans. 

They work in silence, for the most part. Lena’s thoughts run wild with all the new information she was just given. Mostly, she just notices the light freckles around Kara’s nose and cheeks, hoping she’ll do a good enough job of keeping the woman alive so she can stare into the eyes she knows are as blue as the ocean. 

_No pressure, Lena. You’re working on New York’s most beloved hero. No pressure at all._

“Thank you for doing this. Kara has a lot of faith in you.” James breaks the silence, holding Kara’s hand in his as he washed the dirt out of a pretty nasty gash on her forearm. 

“As do I, Mr. Olsen,” Lena replies tersely. She can already feel her shoulders and neck stiffen from her current panicked state. Pain radiates in her jaw and she relaxes it slightly. 

“I’m happy that Kara has a friend who’s willing to save her like she saves everyone else.”

Lena glances at him as she delicately pulls at the stitch, effectively closing one of the many the lacerations on Kara’s shoulder. Biochemistry and Mechanical engineering are the fields in which she obtained master's degrees, but having a mind starved for learning, waiting to be filled with new information, she had taken several pre-med classes during her studies. “I’m going to take a wild guess and assume she’s the one who helped the infamous Venom go from villain to hero?”

James offers a nod and a small smile. It looks almost pained, Lena ponders, but she can clearly see the weight that’s been lifted off his shoulders. The suffering he caused, the people he hurt before reforming. She understood all too well. “I owe her my life.” 

“The hole in her stomach...” Lena snaps off the gloves and throws them in a nearby trash can. “I can’t stitch it. And without 3D imaging, I won’t know for sure what organs were damaged.” 

“She heals quickly,” James offers as he disposes of numerous bloodstained wipes. Lena has to look away for a moment lest she lets a panic attack take over completely. 

_Yes, I know that_ she wants to bite back. How _much_ she can heal is the information Lena is requesting. “‘Quickly’ is hardly something I can go off of to determine if I can save her life or not.” 

“I’ve seen her recover from bullet wounds in less than eight hours. We should let her sleep.” 

Lena opens her mouth to retort at the vague and reckless answer but Kara’s heartbeat suddenly spikes, the heartbeat monitor chimes, the beeping loudly echoing in the room. 

Kara’s body tenses as she lets out a blood-curdling scream. Her back arches off of the gurney and her hands grip the side of it tightly, indenting the metal bars that support it. 

“What the hell is happening?” James yells and rushes to her side. 

Lena watches in horror as the numbers on the monitor climb higher and higher with no signs of stopping. Kara’s heartbeat surpasses what any human could withstand and should have sent her in cardiac arrest long ago. It’s past two hundred when Lena makes the calculated assumption that Scorpion's sting was filled with poison. 

“Poison.” Lena has antibiotics, but without knowing exactly what substance she’s dealing with, a bad chemical reaction between the poison and the medicine could very well kill Kara on the spot. Desperation and defeat hits her like a sucker punch to the face. The only thing she can do is pray that Kara’s superhuman constitution can filter out the toxins. 

She watches James grip the back of Kara’s head, pulling her face towards his sharply. “Kara! Hey, look at me!” Her eyes snap open as her hands grips his forearm, fingers digging into the skin below. She’s breathing heavily through clenched teeth, her body covered in a thin sheer of cold sweat. “Take the symbiote.” 

Kara mutters James’ name before dark tendrils envelop her body completely. 

She lies still for a moment as Lena’s gaze bore into James. He seems to notice and turns to her, fear swirling silently behind his eyes. “It will neutralize the poison...” James purposefully lets the rest of his words hang in the air, and Lena’s eyes grow dangerously cold.

“James,” she warns through gritted teeth, her eyes never leaving Kara for too long. 

“If she can control the symbiote and bond with it,” he adds and Lena flinches at the way his worried gaze moves to Kara’s form currently engulfed by the symbiote. 

Lena is moments away from yelling ‘how fucking dare you gamble her life on a hunch’, a loud screeching sound comes from the gurney. Kara and the symbiote’s voices mix, tangling together and coming out in an eerie and high pitched tone that chills Lena to the bone. The dark mass on her body moves erratically, tendrils whipping everything around and toppling over the monitor, promptly ripping the IV tube from her arm. 

Kara springs off of the bed on unsteady limbs, nearly falling over as if she’s not in control of her body. She crashes into the wall and then stumbles towards James. Clawed hands come up to grip the front of her shirt, the alien matter revealing half of her face as she speaks. The guttural voice that comes out echoes and trembles as the alien quickly molds itself to her body. “W-why did you do this to me!?” Kara shouts. The symbiote’s snarl contrasts heavily with the pained expression in her wide, blue eye.

She stumbles back, holding onto her head and letting out a strangled scream as the symbiote consumes her fully once more. Her body seems bigger, muscles fuller and littered with bulging veins. She crashes through the med bay’s glass door and leaps out of the building from the broken wall James had brought her in from. 

“We need to go after her.” She tells James urgently, willing her body to stop trembling like a leaf. 

“We?” James stares at Lena, incredulous at the request. 

Lena runs to her work table to grab the prototype web-shooters, which she hands James once he grips her shoulder and whirls her around with a questioning gaze. She resists the urge to push him away, and thankfully he drops his hand. “Kara and I have been working on these.” It’s funny how foreign and yet oddly familiar the name feels on her tongue. She widens her eyes, urgency in her voice. “Are you daft? Hurry up and put them on!” 

The small red bracelets clip around his hands snuggly. If it’s a little too tight he doesn’t say anything about it and his eyes are sincere when they meet Lena’s gaze. “I’ll bring her back safely.” 

“I’m coming with you.” Lena reasons she’d go insane waiting for him to return. And she wanted to help. She _needed_ to help. 

“If anything happens to you, Kara is going to kill me.” 

“If anything happens to her I’m going to kill you.” She shoots back defiantly. “Bring me to her!” Lena yells, punctuating every word with light punches to his chest. She notices the slight curl to his lips and she wants nothing more than to slap it away, but a strong arm wraps around her waist and in an instant, they’re passing through the blue tarp and jumping out of the broken wall. Lena hides her face in his shoulder as her stomach drops. 

She’s never going to get used to this. 

Miraculously they haven’t fallen yet, Lena observes. The prototype’s first test wasn’t supposed to be so _critical_ , but she’s proud it holds up as James deftly swings them around a building. He picks up Kara’s trail easily, following the claw marks on the buildings. They hear Kara before they spot her, kneeling down on the rooftop of a commercial building, clutching her head and howling in distress. 

The moment they touch down Lena pushes off James and starts towards Kara. “Lena,” James warns, but she rips her arm from his grip and continues forward.

“Kara it’s me. Just me.” She inches forward with calculated and tentative steps, her body on high alert at the constant groans of anguish coming from the hero. “You can fight this, Kara,” Lena repeats in a gentle tone and it seems to calm both Kara and the symbiote. She crumples forward as if all her muscles relaxed at once, her arms being the only thing holding her up.

Gradually, Lena lowers herself to her knees and places her hand in either side of Kara’s face. She panics for a moment as the mass engulfs her fingers. It’s cold, but it quickly warms when she lifts Kara’s head until they’re both eye level and kneeling in front of each other. 

She expects Kara to jump away, but she doesn’t. Her eyes are searching, the jagged toothed smile so close to her face should scare her, and yet all she feels is confidence. “I know you’re in there,” she pries, “look at me.” 

The dark alien mass shifts on Kara’s face, splitting and separating down the middle, opening like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon. 

Blue eyes fight to stay open, glazed over and unfocused. Her lips are parted and heaving breaths through her mouth and nose, though slower than before. 

When their eyes lock Lena is instantly pulled into the sea of cobalt, knowing at that moment that she would willingly drown in them. A pull she can’t quite grasp pushes her forward and she closes the distances between them. 

The kiss is more salty than sweet, a simple brush of soft lips. Kara gasps against Lena’s lips like she needs air, but when Lena attempts to back away there’s a strong hand gripping the back of her neck, keeping them pressed together firmly.

Lena relents control with a soft groan, gladly opening her mouth at the insistent probing of Kara’s tongue on her lips. When their they meet, sliding together in her mouth it’s as if a jolt of electrical current shoots through her body, sending every nerve ending, every square inch of skin and every molecule into a heated frenzy. Her body comes alive for the very first time, and she can finally breathe. 

Lena’s hands tangle into blonde hair at the back of Kara’s head and she’s almost certain Kara is pulling them up on their feet, but her currently hazy brain barely registers the change in position. 

Blonde curls are picked up by the wind and the lingering smell of Kara’s shampoo assaults her already heightened senses. The smell that Lena associates with Kara swallows her whole as new fragrances pull her that much deeper. 

Kara’s arms wrap around her waist, slotting their bodies together with one strong tug. She moves her head sideways, opening her mouth and letting Kara deepen the already frantic kiss. 

Kara’s holding on to her like they’re standing on the edge of the world and Lena is the only thing keeping her anchored, her hands curling and bunching the material of Lena’s blouse at her back.

She presses her hand into Kara’s chest, the material under her fingers is smooth like the spandex Kara usually wears, and at the same time, it feels like a second skin under her fingers. 

When they finally part, Lena chases her breath as her eyes flutter open. Kara’s standing in front of her, her hair dancing in the wind and the symbiote is seamlessly formed to her body in a dark and form-fitting suit. There’s a large white spider emblem covering most of her chest and two white trapezoid-like shapes on top of her hands. 

Kara’s staring down at her hands, curling and uncurling her them into fists. “How did you get up here?” Her voice is low and throaty when she speaks.

“Is that really the first thing you’re going to say to me after that kiss?” Lena is teasing, but Kara responds by lifting her hand, the costume shifting off before it connects with Lena’s cold skin. Closing her eyes, Lena leans into the warm palm holding her cheek. 

“I knew you’d pull me back.” 

Kara’s voice is sincere and Lena shivers despite herself, missing the warmth of her body. “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” 

“I’d never lie to you, Lena.” 

Lena relishes in the contact until Kara’s mouth moves into a brilliant smile that reaches the vibrant blue eyes and her lips tingled with the anticipation of kissing her again. 

Kara extends her hand towards Lena, who raises an eyebrow but accepts the handshake regardless. “I’m Kara Danvers. Nice to meet you.” 

The corner of Lena’s lips lifts in a smirk she’s unable to contain. “I believe we already met.” She replies instead of blurting out something embarrassing like ‘you’re adorable and I want to ride your face’. 

“I remember.”

Lena’s heart jumps in her throat when Kara chuckles, it sounds like sweet like honey dripping from her mouth. She can’t look away from the expressive blue eyes that soften as they peek right through Lena’s defenses. Suddenly she feels completely bare, disrobed by the ocean of unspoken emotions. Her hand moves on its own and traces the line of the strong jaw with her index. “You’re incredibly handsome Kara Danvers.” Lena’s honest compliment is spoken barely above a whisper as if she intended to keep this information to herself. 

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” 

They both laugh softly, neither wanting to break eye contact. That is until a familiar voice behind them captures their attention. 

“I don’t mean to break the moment, but there’s a crowd below.” James doesn’t glance down, not wanting to wake up to his face plastered all over the papers tomorrow.

“Right,” the symbiote forms over Kara’s head into a mask with large, white eyes that resemble the ones on her ruined suit. Lena laughs at the double-take Kara does once she hears James speaking. “Were you watching us kiss this whole time you creep?” 

Lena recognizes the teasing in her tone, her ears becoming quite attuned to it after hours upon hours of hearing it. 

“I was keeping watch. On - below. The people...street.” 

“People street?” Lena laughs louder this time. “You’re torturing the man, Kara.” She chides lightly, poking at Kara’s ribs. 

Kara crosses her arms over her chest, tilting her chin slightly. “He deserves it. His _friend_ isn’t too keen on taking new passengers.”

James scoffs, adopting the same pose as Kara. “Can you blame it? Look who he has to put up with.” 

“That’s rich, Mr. ‘I damage city property to save your life’.”

“Don’t act like you never destroyed entire buildings.”

Lena rolls her eyes at the exchange between the two friends, her hand coming to rest on Kara’s arm to grab her attention. “We should get going before they spot James here.”

“Are you gonna be okay?” Kara directs her question at James, who nods in reply. 

“Yeah, I’ll just sneak down the fire escape ladder.”

When Kara pulls Lena against her side before they go diving off yet another building, as they’re cutting through the cool night air while camera flashes snap below, Lena begins to understand the depth of her feelings for the hero holding her waist tightly. 

* * *

Once they get back to Lena’s lab Alex and Sam are already waiting for them with news about the case. Sam questions Kara about Black Cat, the infamous thief. The detective is wary that the hero knew the woman by her name; Felicia. A few glares and harsh stares are exchanged before Alex breaks them apart.

Kara explains that she ‘knew her. A long time ago.’ And now, Lena wasn’t exactly the jealous type, but it sure sounded like _knowing_ in the biblical sense. She doesn’t pry. It isn’t exactly her place to ask. Though she does sense that Kara is disappointed, perhaps? Evidence that something definitely happened between the two. 

They had much to discuss, but all their attention is turned to Kara as she nearly collapses in front of them. It doesn’t take much convincing to get her home so she can rest. The symbiote may have removed all the toxins from her body, but she still had to heal from the numerous gashes on her body. 

Alex is the only one who sticks around to give the whole protective sister routine, Lena supposes. Her eyes tracking Alex’s movements, relaxed yet deliberate, as she approaches Lena from her sitting position at the work table.

“I can’t thank you enough for what you did tonight,” Alex’s voice is nothing but sincere. Lena watched the interaction between the two sisters when they had arrived at the lab. Alex crushed Kara in a bear hug then called her a reckless idiot. There was no doubt in Lena’s mind that they were very close - and a part of her wishes she had that sort of relationship with Lex.

 _But?_ Lena thinks to herself, silently preparing a speech to hopefully convince the detective that Kara’s secret is safe with her. _Listen, Alex, I want to bed your sister every which way, I wouldn’t compromise her identity. Too forward, perhaps?_ Lena was just taking the piss, of course, picking up on this coping mechanism from Kara.

“I imagine that’s not what you stayed here to tell me,” Lena answers sagely, her eyes falling back to the large tablet in her hands and the blueprint she was currently working on. There was no way she was going to sleep tonight and thankfully her brain is running wild with ideas. 

“No.” Alex smiles, not surprised her intentions had been uncovered so effortlessly. “There’s not a lot of people I would trust with my sister’s life, but you’re one of the few that I do trust. Completely.”

Lena stills all her movements, her breathing included, stunned at the honest words that were just spoken to her. As if she didn’t believe she was worth being treated with such loving devotion by a friend.

“I know Kara can be a lot sometimes, and that dumbass is like a magnet to danger,” Alex rolls her eyes, “but I’m glad she finally told you. Even if it wasn’t exactly under the best circumstances.”

 _Use your words Luthor._ After clearing her throat and pretending to find something on her tablet _extremely_ fascinating, she lifts her head to stare at the woman standing in front of her. Somehow, Lena isn’t fearful of the vulnerability she displays. “I- thank you, Alex. You have no idea how much that means. To have people on my side. And I trust you as well, without a doubt. Your _partner,_ however,” Lena trails off, knowing she didn’t need to finish that thought. 

She’s used to scrutiny, the media had been absolute vultures when her brother was imprisoned. She remained indoors for weeks after that, and every time she stepped foot outside there was a news article about her being part of Fisk’s underground network of criminals. Or how she was planning to break her brother out of prison with her inventions every time she visited.

“She thinks you want to finish what your brother started before we caught him.” Alex takes a seat in front of Lena, the zippers of her leather jacket clanking against the work table and jostles Lena out of her thoughts.

“I would never do something to endanger Kara, or you, for that matter.” Lena is quick to defend herself, out of habit more than anything, but the way Alex’s gaze softens tells her she understands. It’s very new and almost overwhelming to be _understood_ , to be cared for.

“I know that. But from an outsider’s perspective…”

“My friendship with Supergirl seems suspicious because I’m a Luthor.”

Lena almost jumps when Alex’s hand makes contact with her own. It’s warm and gentle and the compassion in the older woman’s brown eyes look right past the armor Lena had carefully crafted for all these years. _What is it about Danvers women that turns me to mush?_

“As a cop, you’re taught to not trust anything at face value and to challenge everything people say. To assume everything is a lie until proven otherwise. She’ll come around, just give her time.” Alex gives Lena’s hand one last squeeze before leaning back. “You’ll get through to her, my sister was smitten from the moment she met you.” There’s a sly wink that accompanies her words.

“I assure you, Detective, it was quite the other way around,” Lena flushes slightly ut that doesn’t deter the smirk from appearing on her lips.

“I think we can say the feeling was mutual.” 

“ _That_ we can agree on.” 

The women share a companionable laugh and it’s not long before Alex cuts through the silence.

“What are you working on?” She inquires with curious eyes, leaning forward in her seat as if she’s desperately holding back from prying the tablet away from Lena’s hands.

“New spider suit,” Lena grins and turns the tablet area, the screen facing Alex. “Seeing as your sister let her _only_ suit get ripped to shreds.” 

“Oh, sick!” Alex jumps from her seat and walks around the table, completely disregarding Lena’s personal space and pressing their shoulders together. “Can you make it pink? Or orange, she _hates_ orange,” she adds with a conspiratorial smile. 

They spend some time deciding on the colors while Alex shows Lena embarrassing pictures of Kara’s first spider ‘suit’, bonding over Kara’s dorky nature and lack of fashion sense. They’re both exhausted and every little thing sends them both into fits of laughter.

When Alex leaves, after infecting Lena with entirely too many yawns, she brews herself a pot of dark and bitter tasting coffee and focuses on her work throughout the rest of the night, which bleeds into the day before long, and yet she shows no sign of stopping. 

* * *

Kara, in her haste, forgets to knock before barging in the L-Corp lab. It’s only after Lena yelps and lets out a loud groan that Kara knocks on the door uselessly. “Huh, hi?” _Shoot..._ She smiles brightly at the glare she receives. She has every intention of making Lena forgive her with the coffee she brought, but a pout forms on her lips when she spots the half-empty coffee pot Lena keeps strategically close to her. 

“At least you know how doors work. We’ll work on the etiquette later.” 

“Ah ah, very funny.” Kara meets tired emerald eyes and she wonders how long Lena has been working on the suit. She received a text from Lena very late last night telling her she should come by the lab when she can. 

Kara has been awake for a whole twenty minutes, happy to find her wounds completely healed by the time she opened her eyes and the insistent sun rays woke her up. She sets both cups of coffee down in front of Lena, who reaches for one with a thankful smile regardless of the perfectly brewed one sitting next to her. “I hope I’m not too early. I wanted to get started as soon as possible. You don’t have to stay all day, I wouldn’t want to keep you from super important CEO duties like plotting world domination or something.”

Lena waves her hand, brushing off the concern as she brings the coffee to her lips. “My dear, that plan is already in full effect.” 

“Just a friendly reminder that I have like superpowers so you should totally recruit me.” Kara shuffles forward, almost nervously. The memories of the kiss they shared last night invaded her dreams and now, most of her waking moments. She stuffs her hands in the pockets of the dark blue slacks, the sleeves of her pale blue button shirt already rolled up to her elbows. _What if she only kissed me to save me?_ It’s not like they had a lengthy conversation about what it meant even though it was beyond anything she had ever experienced before, but that didn’t mean the feeling is reciprocated. Right?

“Are you offering to take over the world with me?” Lena does a bad job of looking affronted at the idea, instead, she looks pleased.

Kara’s eyes follow Lena as she sets her tablet down and walks around the table to rest against it. “Romantic right?” The line is topped off with an exaggerated wiggle of her eyebrows and she delights in the way Lena’s laugh warms her entire body.

Lena folds her arms over her chest in her usual casual yet exquisitely sophisticated manner despite the clear fatigue etched on her face. “I have something for you.”

With curious eyes and child-like wonder, Kara attempts to peak at whatever Lena is grabbing behind her back. She extends her hand between their bodies and opens her palm to reveal a small, black-colored gadget shaped like a small spider. “Aww, cute. What does it do?”

“May I?” Lena raises an eyebrow, lifting the device up and holding it between her thumb and index. 

“You may.” Kara gives her a smile that’s all teeth and dutifully observes Lena placing the device on her chest below the dip between her clavicle. “If this is some sort of mind-controlling device I have to warn you that you gotta feed me at least every forty-five minutes.” Lena simply snorts a laugh and presses a button on the spider gadget. A blue light flashes on its head and material forms around the edges, spreading outwards in every direction and rapidly covering Kara’s body from head to toe. 

“Woah, that’s so cool!” Kara’s eyes roam over every square inch of the brand new suit sporting the usual blue and red colors. A white spider logo covers her chest, the legs coming to a stop just below her ribs. Her hands flex as she turns them over, examining the white padding on her knuckles and the white accents on her arms. “Soles! I have soles!” Kara hops up and down, testing the comfortable material cushioned around her feet. 

“I know you wanted to help, but I started last night and I couldn’t stop.” Lena finds herself fidgeting with her fingers and crosses her arms over her chest the moment she notices.

“It feels and looks incredible Lena.” Amazement and wonder are present in her voice, which soon turns to worry as her head snaps up to meet Lena’s gaze, her eyes narrowing accusingly. “Did you even sleep?”

“Don’t look at me like that.” Lena is quick to reprove. “I know for a fact you don't sleep for days at a time.”

Kara’sdoesn’t look away from Lena’s face even when she takes hold of her hand and pushes it into her spandex-covered chest.

“Tap twice, here.” 

The suit is gone in seconds and the black spider is the only thing that remains. Kara pulls the device from her skin and closes her fist around it. “Thank you, for everything. This...this is going to save me so much time.” She can barely express her emotions and the adoration she has for the woman standing in front of her.

“What you do is important and you deserve the best tech--”

Lena’s words die on her lips when she finds them suddenly pressed against Kara’s mouth. 

Kara recoils once her brain clues her in on what she just did. “Sorry, is this - is this okay?” _You idiot! You didn’t even ask first, she’s totally gonna-_

As if Lena can read her mind, she replies with a breathless: “Shut up.” Her fist is bunched in the front of Kara’s shirt and with a hard tug, she pulls her in. 

Their mouths meet and it’s far from gentle this time. Lena opens her mouth and Kara wastes no time inviting herself in. There’s a loud groan as their tongues greet each other eagerly and Kara would be embarrassed if her brain could focus on anything else but the way Lena is sucking on her tongue. 

Lena’s fingers tangle themselves in blonde and Kara drops her hands on Lena’s hips, pushing them until her back hits the table and comfortably settles in between Lena’s legs. Their breaths mix and the whole world fades away, the only thing Kara senses is the heat of Lena’s body, every hum and moan she greedily swallows. 

Lena groans in protest when Kara breaks the kiss and they both take a much-needed breath. “For the record, I'm only stopping because you need to sleep and I have to patrol.” She could very well take the day off of her hero duties, but Miss Grant actually accepted to give her a day of vacation - thanks to James - and Kara wasn’t about to let it go to waste. Not to mention staying home and doing nothing didn’t really appeal to the energetic vigilante. 

“Good to know.” Lena drawls out and mindlessly plays with the buttons on the front of Kara’s shirt.

Kara lifts her hands from Lena’s hips, pressing her palms flat on the surface of the table behind them. She inches forward slightly and it takes every ounce of willpower not to scoop the woman up by her buttock, lay her down on the table and crawl on top of her. _Maybe try asking her out first? Dumbass._ Kara pushes her hand through her hair to distract herself from the proximity of Lena’s body still pressed against her front, but Lena’s hair is pulled in a messy bun and her neck is almost calling out to her and Kara wonders if oxygen is essential to her survival or not. 

By some miracle, she finds her voice and she’s even able to form a coherent sentence or two. “So, on Fridays, we usually have a few drinks at Alex’s and we spend the rest of the evening at the arcade close by. I was wondering if you wanted to come with us? It’s cool if you don’t want to, not everyone’s into that stuff but it’ll be fun and-”

“I’d love to.”

“Yeah? Cool. Great! That’s awesome.” Kara pushes the spider gadget to her chest and activates it in the same manner Lena did a few minutes ago. “I’ll text you the address - wow,” Kara stops to marvel at the incredible efficiency of the tool Lena created. Pulling her mask up halfway, Kara swiftly wraps one arm around Lena’s waist and pulls the woman into a chaste kiss. “One more for the road,” Kara explains as she’s slowly walking back towards the damaged wall and the way Lena’s hungry eyes are roaming over her body is not lost on her. “And go get some rest!” She commands, though her voice is much too sweet and caring to be seen as such. 

“I will.”

With one last wink, Kara is zipping between the skyscrapers with the new web-shooters. Everything fits her like a glove and she’s never been this comfortable wearing a skin-tight spandex suit before. Even if it was to unpleasantly cling to certain delicate _areas_ of her body, the way Lena’s eyes had shone with a predatory glint was a good enough reason for Kara to wear it.

_This woman is going to be the death of me._

Kara is at peace with that fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new suit: https://media.comicbook.com/2018/12/2019-1152017.jpeg


End file.
